Fairy Chess
by Epic Ebi
Summary: After his death, Lelouch Lamperouge finds himself in the midst of what was once Magnolia as the city is held captive in a giant lacrima in Edolas. How did he get there? What is his purpose for coming here to Earthland? Where does he start? Rated M for profanity, strong violence and sexual themes. Anyone who thinks this is a rip-off of Soul Chess will be in for a surprise.
1. Lelouch L White Snow in Magnolia

"Yes…. I destroyed….. the world….. And created….. a new….." His vision faded to black.

A voice called to him.

….

_Who are you?_ He thought.

…_.._

_You are? Then why; why are you talking to me?_

…_._

_I see; and you need my help, don't you?_

…_.._

_I can't help you; I don't deserve to help anyone else anymore._

…_.._

_Hah; of course, I forgot you can see everything._

…_._

_I don't know. _

…

_Alright then; what do you want me to do?_

…

_An enemy? Who is it; do I know the person?_

…_._

_Can you tell me who this person is?_

…_.._

_I see. How do I get there?_

…_...…_

_But?_

…_._

_What? But why?_

…_._

_I…. I see. But what about-_

…_..._

_Why?_

…_._

_Wouldn't it be gone like last time?_

…_._

_I thought I can't-_

…_._

_So there's a loop hole to what you said earlier?_

…_..._

_Wait a second. Did you say 'magic'? Where exactly am I going?_

…_.._

_You're cruel. But I'm used to that kind of behaviour, I guess._

…

…_.. Alright; I'll help you. If it means I can make other people's lives better, than I am willing to go through with it._

…_.._

_I have one last question before I leave._

…_._

_Will you watch over me? And everyone else?_

…

_That's right; and I'm forever grateful for that._

_Well then; here I go!_

Goodbye, Lelouch.

* * *

**(A/N: Greetings. I am Epic Ebi, and this is will be my most prioritised fan-fiction. As you know, Fairy Tail fans, there aren't quite as many arcs as other shows like Bleach or Naruto. So bear with me if I create completely random arcs. But don't worry; I am sure you won't be disappointed with these plots. Before you read this, watch or read all of Fairy Tail and Code Geass to get the full experience.)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail.**

Chapter 1: Lelouch Lamperouge - White Snow in Magnolia

* * *

A large surge of magic erupted from the sky; full of black clouds that swirled around where Magnolia once was. It was now a shadow of its former self. All that remained of it was a large amount of snow-like dust. Bubbles were rising out of the ground in small spots.

The large magic, Anima, capable of turning wizards into lacrima; blue crystal which can amplify magic power, was what Magnolia has become. It has become a source of magic power for Edolas – where it was transported to; the other world. But this event was not happening in Edolas – everything was unfolding in Earth Land.

A tornado of grey bore down on the ground. Something about this tornado was different to the one that consumed Magnolia. It started turning a bright gold colour. At the bottom of the gold tornado was a young, lean man with black hair, violet eyes and a weak build. He was wearing a black singlet, a brown jacket, grey pants and black shoes. He was lying on the ground, almost like he was in a peaceful sleep. The tornado around him subsided.

A tall man with staves on his back and blue hair walked over to the sleeping figure. In Earthland, he was known as Mystogan. In Edolas, he was Jellal; a prince. He knelt down besides the strange individual.

_Strange,_ Mystogan thought. _I've never seen this person before._ "Hey, are you alright?" He asked gently; making sure not to scare the person awake.

"No… Stop…" The strange person said to himself.

_He's talking in his sleep. Maybe I can get his name if he spits it out by accident._ "Tell me your name. Can you do that for me?"

"I'm…sorry…Nunnally…."

_Nunnally?_ Mystogan was confused. _I don't think that's his name. It sounds too feminine. Maybe if I try this._ "Please; let me hear your name again."

"It's…okay… Your brother…Lelouch will protect you…"

_Lelouch, huh? I think that's his name. And this 'Nunnally' person must be his sister; if I guess._

Lelouch bolted upright with eyes wide open; full of shock and confusion. He paused. "Who….am I?"

Now Mystogan was really confused. _Didn't he say his name was Lelouch? Perhaps he has amnesia and can't remember his dreams?_ "Are you okay?" He asked.

Lelouch was startled by Mystogan. "Who are you?" he asked, panicked.

"Calm down." Mystogan put up his hand. "I won't hurt you."

"Tell me!" Lelouch was scared, so he wasn't up for calming down until he knew what was going on.

"My name is Mystogan," he said. "Lelouch, please calm down."

"Who?" Lelouch didn't remember his name.

"You; your name is Lelouch."

"How do you know?" Lelouch was slightly curious. So he calmed down a little to hear what Mystogan's answer was.

"You said your name in your sleep."

"I did?" Lelouch, expectedly, didn't recall saying anything before this meeting.

"I see. You can't remember anything, can you?"

Lelouch calmed down completely. "Now that you mention it; all I remember is this strange…power that I have."

"Power?" Mystogan wasn't quite sure how to react to that. A person who he had never met before this event has power? What kind of power was it? It certainly was not magic. But if that was thw case, what else could it be?

Lelouch felt that he shouldn't talk about it any further. Mystogan would be more suspicious than he appeared to be now. "Forget it; it might be nothing."

Mystogan concluded that Lelouch could be hiding something, but decided not to dwell on it for now. He put his hand down on the ground as he crossed his legs and sat down. "Alright; I think I should tell you where you are."

"Please," Lelouch insisted. "Anything you say will help me, Mysto…"

"I'm Mystogan." He sat down.

"Thank you, Mystogan."

* * *

Mystogan told Lelouch everything he knew about Earth Land. Lelouch absorbed the information like a sponge. He told Lelouch about the Fiore Kingdom, Magic, wizards, guilds and quests, the Magic Council, Dark Guilds and Dragon Slayers.

"Dragon Slayers?" Lelouch had an idea of what Mystogan was trying to say; but he didn't know for certain.

"Dragon Slayers are a special kind of wizard," Mystogan explained. "These people have been raised and trained by dragons to learn Dragon Slayer magic; which, as you can tell from the name, is strong enough to slay dragons."

_I thought so. _"And where are these dragons now?"

"No-one knows. Most people say they're extinct. But some Dragon Slayers would testify and say they're out there somewhere. They've been looking for seven years."

"Seven years? Has anyone seen them since?"

"No," Mystogan said bluntly.

"Interesting..." Lelouch was surprised, to say the least. _Perhaps they left for some unknown reason..._

"Then again; I can think of one person in my guild who can probably survive encountering one."

Lelouch hasn't been told about Mystogan's guild yet. "You're part of a guild? Can you tell me about it?"

"Sorry; but I have to go somewhere." Mystogan got up from sitting.

"Where exactly?" Lelouch felt if he knew where Mystogan was he could feel more comfortable being alone.

"I have to go to Edolas." Mystogan pulled out a glass container full of what look like red pebbles, took one out, and placed it in his mouth.

Lelouch remembered Mystogan mentioning Edolas when he talked about magic. He said that Edolas has limited magic power; unlike Earth Land where magic is limitless. He also said that a powerful magic called Anima was to be activated to absorb magic from Earth Land and convert it into lacrima. With lacrima, Edolas could gain magic.

Lelouch felt disgusted that people can do this to other people. For some reason, he felt that it was just wrong. He felt, that if other people were here right now, they'd feel the same way. But he understood that they were desperate to keep an important part of their culture. But why was magic scarce in the first place? Mystogan said that there was a King in Edolas. Lelouch put two and two together and figured it out instantly. The King was corrupt, and would've ordered some command to make magic consumption as small as possible; meaning that he made magic that much harder to utilise.

"Is your guild there?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes," Mystogan said back.

"Why are you going to save them? I thought they became a lacrima."

"I can still save them," Mystogan said. "There's still a possibility."

"How?"

"I'm afraid I don't have time to explain. I need to prepare the gate to Edolas." Mystogan used magic to levitate Lelouch. "I can't have you come with me."

Lelouch wasn't happy about this. "Hey, wait! Put me down!" He struggled. "What am I supposed to do when I'm the only one here?"

"You can tell the my Guild Master when he comes back that I've gone to save everyone who hasn't become lacrima," Mystogan lied, and started moving Lelouch out of the radius. "Farewell, Lelouch."

"Stop! Put me down now!" Lelouch struggled more. He was at least one-thousand metres away. "MYSTOGAAAAAAAAAAN!"

* * *

Mystogan didn't actually use wind magic; it was an illusion he created to trick Lelouch. What Lelouch thought was that Mystogan moved him away from where Magnolia was. But in reality, Lelouch was just sitting still.

Mystogan burst through the sky, passing through an Anima into Edolas. When he left, Lelouch realised it was an illusion.

_Cunning bastard,_ Lelouch thought. _If I knew he used illusion magic I would've figured out how to avoid getting affected by it._ Lelouch stood up. _If I remember correctly, Mystogan said that there was a forest nearby here. Maybe I can take refuge in there for the time being._

Lelouch looked down at his feet. _What?_

He picked up a staff. It was one of Mystogan's. _Why did Mystogan leave his staves with me? Unless…_ Lelouch looked up. _You don't plan on coming back; do you? _He headed east with Mystogan's magic staves. But instead of five; Lelouch held four. Mystogan took one with him.

* * *

Lelouch arrived in the East Forest, with staves in hand, by night-time and found a hut with a gravestone near the entrance. He walked up to the gravestone and examined it.

_Lisanna…Strauss, _Lelouch read. _I wonder why there's a grave here. Maybe, this hut belonged to Lisanna, and someone wanted to honour her memory here. Perhaps burying her near a church didn't feel quite right._ Lelouch wasn't that far from the truth. The only difference was that Lisanna owned the hut with the Dragon Slayer Natsu Dragneel. They even raised their 'child' Happy in there. He was right about honouring her memory. That's what Natsu did for her. No-one knew she was still alive though.

A large stomp was felt from behind Lelouch. He turned around quickly to see a large green and purple ape. It was at least three times Lelouch's height. Its muscle build was no laughing matter either. Lelouch doesn't feel intimidated for some reason. _He doesn't seem very…powerful._

"Hey there, skinny-legs," the Vulcan taunted. "I've never seen you around here before!"

_Skinny-legs?_ Lelouch didn't appreciate getting called a name from a strange animal. So he said a comeback. "Interesting; seeing as how your upper body is most likely compensating for your small lower body. And yet you make fun of my figure? How laughable."

The Vulcan didn't like Lelouch's comment. "What'd you say about me?" He raises his fist up in the air.

Lelouch, without thinking, took off his contacts and issued a command. "Leave this place immediately!" His Geass activated. The Vulcan never saw it coming.

The Vulcan paused. He lowered his fist. "Understood." He started walking away from the hut and towards the mountain range.

_What the hell?_ Lelouch just realised what he did. _Where did that come from? I didn't even think about doing that. _Lelouch stood still. _No; I shouldn't dwell on it for now. I need to find some source of food and water. Maybe I can set up some traps. _Lelouch quickly reconsidered. _On second thought; maybe I should try find fruit. _His thought process was cut off from another presence in the woods. It was an old woman with pink hair. She didn't look too happy.

_I thought I was the only other person here._ "Hey," he called out. "Who are you?"

"I don't appreciate a stranger talking to me in such a rude manner!" she snapped back.

"I could say the same about you," Lelouch said and started walking towards her. "Do you think you can treat someone who you never met before with such disrespect?"

"You little hypocrite," The old hag snapped again. "I should teach you a lesson in manners!"

"My apologies," Lelouch said plainly. "But you seem to like contradicting what you say. Mind telling me what exactly makes you so exasperated?"

"Watch your tongue!"

"You're still proving my point," Lelouch countered calmly. "But if you insist; I apologise for acting in such a rude manner."

"I swear; you are the most arrogant young man I've ever met!"

_This woman really hates social interactions. Maybe I could use my power on her to answer my questions._

The woman covered her eyes.

Lelouch knew why she did it. _I guess this means I need eye contact to use my power._ He put his contacts back on.

She put her arm back down. "Contacts?"

"I guess so," Lelouch shrugged.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, curiously but bitterly.

"I don't remember obtaining them."

"Really?"

"That's right," Lelouch looked directly at the woman. Once he was in front of her, he raised his right hand. "My name's Lelouch. May I ask for your name?"

The woman was looking stern at this point. But she complied and shook his hand. "It's Porlyusica. I practise medicine."

Lelouch smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Porlyusica."

"Now that that's out of the way..." Porlyusica broke away from the handshake. "Why do you have Mystogan's staves?"

"Well it's because..." Lelouch looked down; feeling a little upset. "...Mystogan would've felt I needed them."

"Where is he now?"

"He's in Edolas; and staying there."

"And you know this how?"

"Since he only took one staff and used illusion magic on me, I assume he didn't want me to come along. I would've run the risk of getting lost or hurt."

"Yeah that's pretty evident. You're not from this world."

Lelouch was a little surprised to hear her say that. "I figured as much. The thing is; I need some place to stay for the time being."

Porlyusica thought to herself. _He doesn't seem to have magic power. Maybe I can try making sure he's ready to take care of himself. If what he said about Mystogan is true, then…_ Porlyusica now knew what to do. She didn't like the idea at all, but she and Mystogan both came from Edolas. There was nothing wrong with doing Mystogan a favour. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To my place; I think I can help you with something."

"Does that mean you know what happened to Magnolia?"

"Well if Mystogan went to Edolas, then that means Magnolia isn't anywhere right now."

Lelouch paused. "I see; you have a point. Is your place far from here?"

"Oh, you youngsters and your distances!"

_There she goes again,_ Lelouch thought.

"Why is it that you people complain about how far something is!?"

"Well excuse me for saying this, but I don't exactly look like marathon-running material; and secondly, if we don't get there now then storms might come around."

"How do you know that?"

"Have you seen the weather back at Magnolia?"

Porlyusica stopped. Finally, she said, "Whatever. It's not too far from here. Follow me or I'll leave you behind."

"Alright," Lelouch replied and followed Porlyusica to where she lived.

* * *

A young man with white hair and red eyes was hovering in the air with white wings; hundreds of metres away from Lelouch and Porlyusica. He was wearing black, royal robes. He was a spitting image of Lelouch.

He was laughing. "How very interesting, Lelouch Lamperouge! It looks like you finally arrived! When we meet, I shall show you that you do not deserve your Geass. It will be mine, and I know the perfect way to take it from you!"

The Anti-Lelouch felt a presence behind him. "Tsumibito, it's time we leave." It was a male.

Tsumibito turned around. "Why hello there, Shokan." He looked incredibly smug.

Shokan was tall and very well built. He had blue eyes and shaggy brown hair. He was wearing a large blue coat and black slacks with colour-matching boots. He had an emotionless expression on his face. "How long are you going to look at your other half?"

"Correction: I am _his_ other half; not the other way around." Tsumibito turned back around to the direction Lelouch was in. "However, I shall make sure I am the king in the end. I will call checkmate on him and he will have no hope of escaping." Tsumibito smirked. "I am him and he is me. Why don't we see who is the strongest one out of the two of us?"

"Why don't you take him out now?" Shokan asked.

Tsumibito turned back around. "Are you kidding? What's the fun in fighting someone who doesn't know how to use those staves on his body? I want to see his 'borrowed' magic power at his fullest. I want a challenge."

Shokan didn't say anything in response.

Tsumibito laughed. "Shokan, do you want to know something interesting? I know that at this rate, Lelouch will become the next Mystogan."

Shokan looked at Tsumibito in the same way he always has; apathetically. "How do you know that?"

"Because when Mystogan left, he left those staves with Lelouch on purpose. He wanted those who didn't realise the events in Edolas to think that Mystogan is still there with them. So when Lelouch goes to that woman's house, he will adopt the role of Mystogan. In fact, he'll gladly accept it."

"Very clever," Shokan complimented. "But what about those who didn't become lacrima?"

"That's easy; Lelouch is sharp with speech. He can get what he wants by talking with his intelligence."

Shokan paused. "This battle will become very interesting, Wizard of Grimoire Heart."

Tsumibito looked back at Lelouch's direction. "That's right. It will soon become a battle of wits. Fairy Tail will be in the middle of it all. Would it be wrong to say it's a game of fairy chess?"

"Not wrong..." Shokan shrugged. "...but silly."

"Whatever." _I hope you don't disappoint, Lelouch._ He smiled devilishly.

End of Chapter 1

**(A/N: So that's that. Lelouch is in Magnolia, Edolas-Jellal entrusted Lelouch with his Earth Land identity Mystogan, and Tsumibito's going to make Lelouch's new life hell. Now I'll tell you all this: if you're wondering about Lelouch being Zero, then read on; I might just surprise you. And also: Lelouch thought he could avoid illusion magic, but we all know that it's not possible. But it made sense for him to think he could.**

**I'm Epic Ebi, and this has been the beginning of Fairy Chess. On a side note: see if you can spot the symbolism in the title.)**

**Edited as of the 9th of September 2012.**


	2. His Name is now Mystogan

Chapter 2: His name is now Mystogan

**(A/N: Hello guys and welcome to the second chapter of Fairy Chess. This will conclude the Edolas arc completely. And after that; I'm going to incorporate Lelouch's new adventure in knowing how Fairy Tail works. Of course; he's not going to try blowing his cover.)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Copyright of this fan-fiction is FORBIDDEN; as can only copy this. The title was inspired by Soul Chess, and draconichero21 did okay it with me.**

* * *

Lelouch and Porlyusica arrived at the tree of a house. They stood in front of the man-made staircase.

"So you hollowed out this tree and made a living here?" Lelouch asked.

"What about it?" She said bitterly.

"It's quite impressive, actually," Lelouch said sincerely. "I don't think anyone else in Fiore has thought about doing this."

Porlyusica was getting sick of his compliments; because he was radiating this arrogance she thought she could feel. While it's true that Lelouch is arrogant; he isn't as arrogant as he lets off. "Let's go in."

"Understood," Lelouch followed Porlyusica up the stairs.

The large room consisted of a bed, a working desk, stumps, lots of crates and barrels. Lelouch liked the large bookshelves in the trunk of the tree.

"This is incred-"

"Stop complimenting everything you see!" Porlyusica snapped.

Lelouch had enough of her attitude. He scowled at her and went for his eyes. "I'm really starting to get annoyed at you. If you don't change how you treat me," Lelouch took off his contacts. "Then I will have no choice but to-"

Porlyusica covered her eyes. "Will you stop that?"

"Give me one good reason why," Lelouch demanded.

"Mystogan entrusted you with his staves; didn't he?"

"What's your point?"

"His plan was to make sure you become Mystogan!"

Lelouch was shocked. But he composed himself quickly, and put his contacts back on his eyes. "How do you know that? And what do you mean by becoming Mystogan?"

"Mystogan is not his real name," Porlyusica put her hand down. "It's an alias."

"Why would he need an alias?"

"He never told you; did he? He's not from Earth Land; he's from Edolas!"

Lelouch flinched. _What? But that would mean..._ "What's his real name?"

"I don't think you need to know that."

"Oh, I see; you don't know either?" Lelouch smiled smugly.

"Sorry to disappoint you; Mr Perceptive," Porlyusica said. "But I do know his name."

Lelouch stopped smiling. _How clever. If you didn't say anything, I would've hurt your pride. If you lied, I would've figured it out. And if you told me his name, it would make my curiosity disappear. Trying to play with me now; are you? _"Where can I find his Earthland equivalent?"

"In prison," she replied bluntly.

_Well; I wasn't expecting that._ Lelouch decided to change the subject. "So; about Mystogan's plan of making me him."

"Aren't you going to apologise?"

"Apologise for what, exactly? I'm only treating you how you're treating me," Lelouch folded his arms. "And I must say; you're treating me in a very appalling way. Now answer my question."

"I don't think you deserve to know about it." Porlyusica looked away with her nose high in the air.

"Do you really think he would be happy with that?" He argued.

"I would."

"You're not Mystogan; are you now?"

Porlyusica still hated how he argued back. But she gave up for now; it was giving her a headache. "Wait here." She went over to the bookshelf; pulled out a book and turned it around. Then she put it back where it was. The bookshelf suddenly rotated around; revealing a chest.

"What's in the chest?" Lelouch was curious.

"Why don't you look if you're so curios?"

Lelouch walked up to the chest and opened it. He was shocked. "This is…"

"There; now you know," Porlyusica folded her arms. "Happy?"

Lelouch jumped up. "Why the hell are Mystogan's clothes in here?"

"It's not only that; there are books and special glasses in there as well."

Lelouch was still exclaiming. "But why are his clothes in here? You haven't answered my question!"

"He entrusted me with his spare clothes in case he goes on a quest and he damages his clothing."

"But why you?"

"Why not?"

Lelouch stopped complaining. "Alright; then what are the glasses for?"

"Pick up a book." Porlyusica pointed at the chest. And Lelouch did as she said. "How long do you think you can memorise all the books in that chest?"

Lelouch thought for a second. "If I do it all in one go; I say about five hours."

"But that's about twelve books in there."

"I know; but I feel like it's possible."

"How interesting; all you remember is your name and that thing in your eyes, and yet you feel you can memorise all those books that quickly."

"Are the glasses meant to do that for me then?" Lelouch asked.

"You catch on fast for a human. Those glasses can help you read much faster than you normally can."

"How much faster?" _Wait. Did she say; 'for a human'? Isn't she human as well?_

"Find out for yourself."

Lelouch picked up the glasses and looked through the book. _Amazing; I'm absorbing all the information at three times my normal speed. No; it's more like four times._ Lelouch finished the book in thirty seconds. He decided to read it again; so he can memorise all of it. Again; it took thirty seconds for Lelouch to finish it. He closed it. "Done."

Porlyusica was stunned. _I don't believe it! He memorised the whole book in less than two minutes! It took Mystogan just over five minutes to do that!_ "Tell me what was in it."

"The book; basically, taught me how to use magic for one of the staves Mystogan left with me."

"So that means you know what Mystogan wants?"

"Yes, "Lelouch replied and picked up another book. "He's entrusting his magic power with me; as well as his identity. He wants me to make sure his guild doesn't lose one of their wizards."

"And do you know what his guild is?"

"All I know is that it's based in Magnolia."

Porlyusica was a bit surprised. "So you don't know what his guild is called?"

"Not one bit; he avoided the question completely." Lelouch scanned through the book he was holding.

Porlyusica kept talking. "I'll tell you about his guild after you finish the books and put on his clothes." Porlyusica headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Lelouch looked up from the book; already almost finished.

"I'm going to see if Magnolia has come back yet." She opened the door.

"But can't you tell from where we are?"

She already closed the door.

_I guess she got sick of my company. Whatever._ Lelouch went back to reading again.

* * *

In less than one hour, Lelouch memorised every single book Mystogan owned. However; he had a little problem with the book about sleep magic. He didn't have the staff required to use it. _I'll have to make do without it. Mystogan took it with him, after all._ He thought to himself. He took off the glasses. _This world is incredible. Now that I'm thinking about it. Why can't I remember anything? What happened to my memories? I didn't even remember my name until Mystogan told me. Maybe I can find out more about my past if I record my sleep talk. Wait a minute. Record? How can I do that? What's 'recording' anyway?_ Lelouch thought about it. _….._ _Never mind. I should get changed._ Lelouch took off his clothes.

Lelouch held out Mystogan's clothing. _Mystogan; what happened that made you leave Edolas? Why did you leave?_ His thought process was cut off by a bright light from the window. _Is that what I think it is? I should get changed now._ Lelouch quickly put on Mystogan's spare clothes and staves. He put his own clothes in the chest and headed for the door.

* * *

Natsu, Lucy, Grey, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla and Happy arrived in the East Forest; after the Exceeds and Pantherlily. The Exceeds already flew off and Pantherlily has captured Lisanna; who no-one knew was still alive, or that she was in Edolas for two years. She explained her story to the group. Soon after Lisanna's story was told; the group made for the church. But Lelouch stepped in here.

"Who's there?" Erza turned around and stood frozen. Everyone else turned around. They all were shocked to see Mystogan standing right there in the rain with them. Although it wasn't the real Mystogan; it was Lelouch.

"What the hell?" Grey said.

"But that's not possible!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Hey; why do you look like Mystogan?" Natsu asked; holding his fist in front of him.

Lelouch put up a hand. "Relax. This was Mystogan's idea."

"Idea my ass!" Natsu yelled. "Just who the hell are you?"

_It looks like I'll have to show them._ Lelouch uncovered his whole face.

Erza looked relieved, but still shocked nonetheless.

"My name is Lelouch; I met Mystogan before he left for Edolas. He's told me everything I need to know about this world."

"Are you from Edolas?" Lucy asked.

"No," Lelouch answered. "I'm not from either worlds altogether."

Everyone was stunned.

Finally, Lisanna spoke up. "But how is that possible?"

"That's a good question," Erza collected herself a bit. "How, Lelouch?"

"I don't know," Lelouch looked sad. "All I know is what Mystogan told me. In fact; I didn't know my name until Mystogan woke me up from my sleep-talking." Lelouch hid the fact that he had power other than Mystogan's staves.

Natsu didn't like that. "I don't buy that crap! That seems too fishy!"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"Natsu; calm down!" Lucy stood up for Lelouch. "What if he's telling the truth?"

Natsu rushed Lelouch. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

"Let's see if this works." Lelouch made hand signs in front of his body. Purple waves went after Natsu.

"Oh crap! Natsu; stop your attack! That's Mystogan's magic!" Erza yelled.

But it was too late. Natsu attacked Lelouch, but Lelouch's magic struck the Dragon Slayer; blowing him back. While it wasn't as strong as some of his other magic; it stopped Natsu from coming at him. "I see; so you're a Dragon Slayer, Natsu." He hid his face again. "But your friend is right. I now possess Mystogan's magic, and I know how to use all of it. Well; except I'm missing one-fifth of that power. He was kind enough to take one with him."

"Okay, okay. We get it," Gajeel joined the conversation. "But why you?"

_Interesting question._ Lelouch thought of an answer. "Because I don't have anything else. I'm sure you all agree that he cares about those he acquaints himself with. I also think that he feels I can make everyone feel like Mystogan has never left. I doubt that anyone who became a lacrima will remember what happened in Edolas."

"But," Wendy spoke up. "What about us?"

Erza replied. "We'll keep it a secret. As long as we do that; then everything should be fine."

Natsu screamed. "Hey! Has anyone thought about me? I just got my ass kicked!"

"Shut up Natsu," Grey said.

"That's right," Lelouch looked at Erza. "All of us present must keep my identity a secret from everyone in Magnolia and your guild."

"But what about Master Makarov?" Lucy wondered. "And won't Mystogan still need a Fairy Tail emblem to prove he's one of us?"

_Fairy Tail? Is that the guild's name?_ Lelouch thought. "You have a point. Who distributes the emblems?"

"Mirajane does that," Erza said.

"Oh right!" Lisanna spoke up. "I need to find my brother and sister!"

"Yeah; you're right!" Natsu said. "Let's go!"

The group left for the church. Lelouch stayed, though. Lucy noticed and turned around. "Hey; Mystogan! Are you coming?"

Natsu turned around as well. "Yeah Mystogan! I want to fight you fair and square later!"

Lelouch smiled. "You can call me Lelouch when we're alone." He followed everyone to the church. _Thank you Mystogan. If I haven't have met you; I don't know if I'll have ever looked forward to anything in this world. But now… I see why you cared for your guild so much. I'll take good care of Fairy Tail in your place. I promise._

End of Chapter 2

**(A/N: There you have it. "Mystogan" is still around and has "rejoined" Fairy Tail. If you want; you can give him a fan nickname. How about Mystolouch? Now; I haven't figured out where Lelouch has his emblem yet. If I can't find where Mystogan's is; I'll place it where I want. And the colour will either be black or red.**

**Tune in next time on Fairy Chess.)**


	3. Lelouch of Fairy Tail

Chapter 3: Lelouch of Fairy Tail

**(Hey guys! You ready for some more Fairy Chess? Just make sure that when you're reading; you turn the lights on in the room, and don't sit too close to the computer screen!**

**Fairy Tail fans will know what to expect next. The S-Class wizard advancement exam is coming up; and Lelouch only just decided to go through with Mystogan's request. But what about what's coming next? Who will Lelouch examine? There's only one way to find out!)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Copyright of this fan-fiction is FORBIDDEN; as can only copy this.**

* * *

It's been a few days since Lelouch joined the Fairy Tail guild. He and Natsu and his friends decided that only Makarov and all S-Class wizards (as well as each other) are allowed to know Lelouch's identity. That means Mirajane and Gildarts know who Lelouch is as well.

Lelouch decided to get his Fairy Tail recognition marked on his back. It covered two-thirds of his spine and was black in colour. And yes; Lelouch has seen the madness that goes on in the guild. On the first day; in fact. Lelouch's head hurts just thinking about it. But he admits he understands why Mystogan liked the guild. Then again; he stays a little sceptical as Mystogan might do so when he was in the guild. Mystogan never revealed his identity to everyone; so Lelouch wanted to try sticking to that.

Lelouch was at the S-Class quest board; keeping in mind that no-one else should come up there when he's around. And if they did; he would use illusion magic to make himself be seen as invisible. Lelouch found it handy knowing these things. Master Makarov walked up to the new Mystogan.

"Hello Mystogan," Makarov held out his hand for Lelouch to shake it.

"Hello Master," Lelouch shook his hand. "Do you have something to ask me?" Lelouch knew that if Makarov needed Lelouch for something; he would do it in private.

"As a matter of fact; I do." Makarov began. "You're supposed to be an S-Class wizard; correct?"

"Yes, but only because Mystogan's staves provide the necessary magic power."

"Do you know about the S-Class wizard advancement exam?"

"Erza told me about it. Do you need me to play 'examiner'?"

"It's a good thing you catch on quickly. Do you think you're up for it?"

Lelouch didn't know how to answer this exactly. He; Mystogan's replacement, is being asked to examine other wizards for a position like his. Not to mention Lelouch only just joined a guild, and still doesn't know anything about his past. Lelouch doesn't even know if he can keep Mystogan's image intact. He's heard from Erza that Mystogan is quite fit. Lelouch can't even run one-hundred metres without panting like crazy. He tried running when Erza wanted to see his fitness level. Let's just say that Lelouch can't exactly refuse her request. But she understood pretty quickly as to why he didn't want to do it. So what will he do?

"I don't know," Lelouch said honestly. "I'm not exactly fit for fighting."

"But Mystogan uses his staves; no?" Makarov pointed out.

"Yes he does. But what about hand-to-hand combat? What if I'm forced into that situation?"

"You know all of his magic; don't you?"

"What about it?"

"Then you should be able to make opponents slip through you." Makarov had a cheesy smile on his face.

_I haven't thought of that. I guess that means I'm worrying too much._ Lelouch smiled back. "You're right. My name is Mystogan, isn't it?"

"It sure is," Makarov nodded.

"Alright then. I'll help examine the candidates." Lelouch nodded. "When do we announce them?"

"We start tomorrow," Makarov turned around and waved Lelouch over. "Come with me; I need all the S-Class wizards to meet with me so I can tell them who's nominated."

Lelouch walked up to his master. "Where are we going?"

"We decided that Gildarts' place might work."

"I see; the one place where hardly anyone will come over to visit. It makes sense."

"Care to exit the guild in your usual way?" Makarov turned his head to face Lelouch.

"I can't. I don't have sleep magic, remember?"

"Oh yes; I forgot about that." Makarov looked disappointed. "How do you plan on getting out?"

Lelouch mentally searched through his list of magic. He picked one out. "I have one in mind." He pulled out the staff with the eye on it. "Just because I can't stop people from seeing me; it doesn't mean I can't make them see something else." His staff glowed and turned Lelouch's being invisible.

"I guess that means you're ready." Makarov continued walking downstairs with Lelouch following behind. No-one saw Lelouch at all.

_Works like a charm every time._ Lelouch smiled under his facemask.

* * *

Lelouch found out the nominees are Natsu Dragneel, Grey Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberona, Levy McGarden and Mest Gryder; Mystogan's apprentice. Lelouch took immediate suspicion of Mest. Mystogan never mentioned he had an apprentice; nor was it appropriate of Mystogan to take one in. He's from Edolas, after all; not Earth Land.

"Master Makarov." Lelouch decided to bring it up. "Who's Mest Gryder?"

"Mest is… you know?" Makarov couldn't put his finger on it. "He's been with us for… I don't know how long."

_I thought so. There're gaps in his history._ "Why is it that everyone here feels like they know who he is except me? I say there's something wrong. He might not be a member of Fairy Tail at all."

Everyone became surprised.

"But how do we know that?" Erza asked.

"If he's really a member of Fairy Tail; why is it that we can't remember everything about him; don't we know everything about our members? Secondly; why is it we take so long to think about our interactions with him? Why can't I remember anything about him at all? I'm supposed to be Mystogan right now; and apparently he's supposed to be my apprentice. I don't buy that. The real Mystogan would've told me if he had an apprentice." Lelouch paused to think of what to say next. "How much trouble does Fairy Tail get into with the Magic Council?" He was looking at Makarov.

"Quite a bit, actually," Makarov answered. "The old Magic Council has tolerated it a bit more than the new one, though."

_So that's their plan, then? I get it now._ "I have a hypothesis. I think the Magic Council have sent an agent that can manipulate memories to try and get rid of the guild."

The other wizards were shocked again.

Mirajane spoke up. "But why would they do that?"

Lelouch looked at her. "It's because Fairy Tail is a burden to the new Magic Council; as well as to the older generations. I have a suspicion that they're trying to get rid of us from within."

"It makes sense," Gildarts said. "It explains why we don't know much about Mest."

"Exactly," Lelouch looked at Gildarts now. "They didn't think through this plan enough. They didn't think that Mystogan was still here. So now this 'Mest' person is probably at a loss for what to do now. I say we take advantage of this."

"How do we go about with that?" Erza asked.

"My prediction is that when he reaches the destination for the examination, he'll do something to us that will make us force to disband. None of us would want that. So I say we corner him somewhere where he can't escape, and interrogate him."

"Do we really have to go that far?" Gildarts was concerned.

_Actually; why did I suggest that at first? It doesn't matter; I see this as being the best option. Although; I don't know why exactly I thought of it._ "This may be the best option we have. I don't trust this person at all; or the Magic Council, for that matter."

"Then it's decided," Makarov boomed. "Mystogan; I'm putting you in charge of this undercover operation during the exam."

"With all due respect, Master; I thought I requested you all call me by my name Lelouch when no-one else is around." Lelouch wanted to feel comfortable with his fellow guild members (who know the truth) by calling him by his real name. He didn't really like being called by what Lelouch would say is his 'disguise'. It made him feel like he wasn't his own self.

"Right," Makarov nodded. "My apologies. Lelouch; I give you full authority over the undercover operation during the exam."

"Thank you Master. I won't disappoint you." Lelouch threw out his right hand in a dramatic fashion.

Everyone stood silently and awkwardly.

"What was that about?" Mirajane looked confused.

_I have no idea._ Lelouch was dumbfounded. "I uh… Have a 'ham' complex…?" _It seems like it, anyway._

"I find that funny, actually," Erza smiled. "Certain women might like that about you."

"Uh… Thanks?" Lelouch still didn't know what to think about what he just did. It felt… good. It didn't feel embarrassing at all to Lelouch; it felt natural. It's almost like he's been doing it for his whole life. Logic dictates that Lelouch's entire life started again once he lost his memory; so he wouldn't remember doing it beforehand.

"So are we done here in my house?" Gildarts was moving around in his house. "I need a bit of rest."

"Oh? Are you scared that you'll need all your strength to take down Natsu?" Lelouch bantered.

"Trust me; not even Mystogan can take me down. No matter whom he is under the mask." Gildarts smirked. "But to be honest; I'm sure Natsu has gotten stronger. I have a feeling about it."

"Well, if Lelouch can take him down pretty easily," Erza joined in. "I'm sure you just need to scare Natsu down to win."

Gildarts stood still. "Yeah; that sounds about right. Okay; I'll see you all tomorrow."

Everyone except Gildarts headed for the door. "Hey Lelouch," Gildarts called out. "Stay here for a second, will you?"

_Strange. What might he want to talk about?_ "Yeah, sure." He turned to the others. "I'll see you back at the guild." Lelouch stayed while Makarov, Erza and Mirajane left for the guild. "What can I do for you, Gildarts?"

"Sit down." Gildarts was serious.

Lelouch complied by sitting in a chair at Gildarts' table.

"I've heard some strange rumours regarding Grimoire Heart," Gildarts started. "I was wondering if you heard anything about them."

"Did you hear these rumours on your last quest?" Lelouch was informed Gildarts went on another quest not too long ago. It wasn't as hard as the ten-year quest; so Gildarts got out without a scratch. "If that's so; then I haven't heard anything else."

"Yeah," Gildarts nodded. "What I heard wasn't very good."

"What does it have to do with me?"

"Have you heard of the Seven Kin of Purgatory?" Gildarts asked; avoiding the question.

"Mirajane told me more about dark guilds a couple of days ago. They're supposed to be the strongest wizards in Grimoire Heart besides its Master. What about them?"

"Apparently; they're getting a new Kin."

"Can we confirm that rumour?"

"Not yet."

"What does this person look like?"

"I don't know," Gildarts said, a little uncomfortably. "I do know that he's very powerful."

"He? Have you seen him use magic?" Lelouch continued asking.

"No."

"Have people seen his magic at all?"

"Yes. And let me tell you; according to the rumours, this person may be the strongest Kin."

Lelouch thought about that for a minute. _The strongest Kin in Grimoire Heart… I didn't think it was possible for them to get any stronger. It's likely this person is as strong as… No… It's likely this person is stronger than Natsu and his friends. Erza may stand a chance; but I can't rule that out. I should ask what kind of magic these people have seen. _"What kind of magic does he use?"

"No-one is certain; but several people have stated they've seen large white wings with a person in between soaring over the sky not long ago."

_Wings?_ Lelouch thought. "Not many wizards can do that. What else?"

"Some people have said that after spotting him, they remember a large white explosion was seen from at least twenty kilometres away."

_That's a long distance._ "How do they know it was that far away?"

"There was a dark guild there."

"Was?"

"That large explosion took it out. And that dark guild wasn't a pushover, either."

Lelouch was a little surprised. "Why would he attack a dark guild if the Baram Alliance consists of them?" He said to himself. "Maybe they planned on treason."

"Or the guy got bored," Gildarts said, surprisingly, without humour.

"This isn't good," Lelouch said. "It's possible that he can take out some of our strongest wizards with no effort at all. Is it possible that Grimoire Heart will attack us on Heaven Wolf Island?"

"I haven't thought of that. How do you know if they will?" Gildarts asked.

"It's a possibility I came up with," Lelouch answered. "I also came up with five-hundred other possibilities for what can happen."

Gildarts was shocked. "You can't be serious."

"I can tell you them if you want." Lelouch sat up straight in his chair.

"No; don't," Gildarts waved it off. "I just don't get how you can do that."

"I don't quite know either," Lelouch admitted. "I guess it just comes to me."

"Well; I told you what I needed to. So I'll see you tomorrow." Gildarts showed Lelouch to the door.

Lelouch stopped at the door. "Hold on. You haven't answered everything."

"Oh? What did I miss?" Gildarts smiled.

"What does he have to do with me?" Lelouch looked at Gildarts dead in the eye.

Gildarts paused. "I just thought you would know about it," he answered.

"I see," Lelouch looked disappointed. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He turned for Magnolia.

"See you later." Gildarts closed the door. _Sorry, Lelouch. I couldn't tell you what this guy looks like. If I did, I don't think you would be able to handle the shock._

Lelouch was heading towards the Fairy Tail guild. _Gildarts; what were you hiding? Just because I lost my memories, it doesn't mean I can't detect a lie when I see one. Is what you were hiding so bad that it would be huge trouble for me?_

* * *

Meanwhile in Grimoire Heart's airship; Tsumibito was talking to his Master, Hades, about their next course of action in the main room.

"So that's what you think we should do?" Master Hades asked his eighth Kin.

Tsumibito smirked. "Correct. If we attack Heaven Wolf Island during Fairy Tail's exam while looking for Zeref, we can take out their strongest wizards in one swoop."

"And you think we should send all of us there?" Hades asked.

"I calculated that Makarov will be there as well; along with all the S-Class wizards. If you can put Makarov in his place, the Eight Kin of Purgatory can take out all of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards. And after that," Tsumibito folded his arms. "Zeref will be on our side."

"What do you think we should do about the S-Class wizards?"

"Erza Scarlet will be taken care of with Meredy; Azuma will take on Mirajane."

"What about Gildarts and Mystogan?"

"I will take them on when the time is right," Tsumibito said with his chin held high.

"That's mighty arrogant of you to think you can take on two of the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail by yourself." Hades now folded his arms.

"Don't worry." Tsumibito unfolded his arms and walked over to the window. "I never said I would fight them by myself at the same time. I have someone who can take on Gildarts with ease."

Hades stood up from his seat. "Really? Who?"

"Shokan from Tartaros," Tsumibito answered. "His magic can bring Gildarts to his knees."

"Tell me what it does," Hades demanded.

Tsumibito didn't really want to, as it would spoil the surprise. Perhaps he could lie about it. _I have twenty different things I could tell him. How about… _"His magic can turn ninety-percent of elements into insignificant atoms. It's called Decomposition magic."

"I never heard of it. Is it lost magic?" Hades asked.

_Good; he caught on to my lie, _Tsumibito thought. "It is. He's kept it secret until now."

"I understand." Hades sat back down. "What about Mystogan? How will you take him on?"

"That's not the real Mystogan." Tsumibito looked back at Hades. "It's someone else entirely."

Hades was very surprised. "How do you know that?"

"I've seen who the person is under the mask." Tsumibito was altering the truth a little bit. "I have no doubt about it. The real Mystogan is no longer here." _In fact; he's in Edolas._

"Who is this person using the name Mystogan?" Hades asked.

_I was afraid of you asking that._ Tsumibito decided to tell him; but not completely. "This person is the reason I exist. He is like me in many ways."

"Tell me his name," Hades ordered.

_What an interesting thing to ask. For now; I'll just say… _"Lelouch." Tsumibito smirked.

"I see." Hades sighed. _Must he keep talking to me in such an arrogant way?_ "Is 'Lelouch' as strong as the former Mystogan?"

"No." Tsumibito was blunt. "He's missing twenty-percent of his magic power. Plus; he's physically underwhelming."

"How boring," Hades said. "What fun would that be?"

"Mystogan's power is Mystogan's power," Tsumibito resided. "I'll force him to use his full power regardless. If I deem it weak, then I'll break his staves permanently."

"Why his staves?" Hades was curious.

"Because his staves are his source for magic power. Without them, he can't do anything."

"Interesting; magic power in items and not within his being." Hades smiled a little. "Go ahead then, Tsumibito. I give you full authority over this assault on Fairy Tail."

Tsumibito bowed while hiding his smug grin. "I'm grateful, Master Hades. I won't disappoint you or Grimoire Heart." He walked off to the door. _You're a fool, Hades. Not only did you give me the power to do as I wish; you gave me the power to take control of your own guild. And soon; I will use Grimoire Heart to move on to my final plan. But first; I will confront Lelouch and take his Geass away from him. Your power will be mine, Lelouch vi Britannia._ Tsumibito chuckled to himself when he was out of earshot from Hades. He ran into Zancrow in one of the halls.

"Zancrow," Tsumibito looked at him. "How nice to see you."

Zancrow laughed hard. "Don't think you're so tough because you talk to me in a polite manner! I can take you down in one attack!"

Tsumibito looked down at Zancrow with his chin in the air. He was taller than him. "Oh, really? Tell me, God Slayer; do you know what my magic is? It's so strong that even you cannot defeat me. Actually; not even the Master can defeat me when I'm holding back."

Zancrow shook it off. "Pfft! Sure you can! Why don't you prove it?"

_You'll regret saying that to me after this._ Tsumibito smiled.

Zancrow's movements slowed down so much that moving one centimetre would take hours._ What the hell? _Zancrow managed to think. _How is he doing this?_

"Now do you see, God Slayer?" Tsumibito was still looking down on him. "That is the weakest reason why I'm known as the strongest Kin of Purgatory. This particular magic slows down the enemy's movement; rendering them useless in combat. Now when I add this other technique to it," Tsumibito smiled a little wider as he placed his hand on Zancrow's chest. "The results are devastating." Tsumibito blasted Zancrow across the hall with tremendous force; creating a small white shockwave. Tsumibito didn't move a single muscle; it was effortless. "This is why I am the strongest wizard in Grimoire Heart. Hell; I'm even stronger than Bluenote. None of you can defeat me in this guild and no-one ever will."

Zancrow couldn't get up. He was really annoyed. _You bastard!_

Tsumibito walked past Zancrow. "Don't worry. You'll be able to get up in thirty seconds." He left the hall.

Zancrow bashed his fist against the floor. "I WILL KILL YOU! JUST YOU WAIT!"

Tsumibito replied with a frightening laugh. "Don't count on it, God Slayer!" He appeared in front of Zancrow in an instant. "No matter what you do, it's useless. I will never fall for your tactics, because my intelligence is the greatest in the world. Anything you do I will figure out and stop you with any means necessary. And soon; I will have the power to make people do my will." He vanished at the same speed he reappeared. "So don't get so full of yourself!" His voice was heard no more. He decided to step out on top of the airship. It was cloudy outside; likely to rain soon.

Ultear came up to him. "Hello, Tsumibito."

Tsumibito didn't bother turn around. "My; I'm certainly popular today. What do you want, Ultear?"

"I heard from Zancrow when I came up to him that you were the reason he had trouble moving," she answered with a calm look on her face.

_So what?_ Tsumibito thought. "What about it?" He was pretty annoyed that people had a problem with what he was doing. If he had Geass, they'd let him do as he wants.

Ultear walked up a little closer. "I must say; if you can bring the God Slayer to his knees through simple magic, then you can possibly be as strong as the Master."

"I am stronger than the Master, by far," Tsumibito said arrogantly. "I just choose not to overthrow him."

Ultear was put off by his attitude. "Why don't you then?"

Tsumibito decided to face her. "There's no profit from simply using the strongest guild in the Baram Alliance," he lied.

"What a waste," Ultear sighed. "You'd make an excellent leader in my opinion."

"Don't worry," Tsumibito turned his body away from the former strongest Kin. "The Master has given me full authority over our mission to retrieve Zeref. I will succeed in that."

Ultear smiled. "Let's wait and see; Kin number eight." She walked off.

Tsumibito smiled. _Count on it for now._ He walked back inside to avoid the rain.

End of Chapter 3

**(A/N: Does anyone have the feeling that Tsumibito is becoming like Aizen? I did when I was writing. Now for a few important things.**

**Yes, I will pair characters together, but no Yaoi couples will exist. I hate it, so I don't have to do it. Besides; none of the main characters are gay, so even Yuri couples won't exist (after all; they won't be in-character if otherwise). I should also mention Tsumibito will change the story of Fairy Tail permanently. That's right; he will wreck everything and it will be disastrous.**

**That is all.)**


	4. Heaven Wolf Island Tsumibito Strikes

Chapter 4: Heaven Wolf Island – Tsumibito Strikes

**(A/N: Hey guys! You ready for some more Fairy Chess? Just make sure that when you're reading; you turn the lights on in the room. And don't sit too close to the computer screen!**

**Most of this you can just re-watch, because I don't need to change much at all. So far; we have Mystogan being suspicious of Mest and also examining the other wizards. We have Tsumibito planning an attack on Fairy Tail… Dah! Just read!**

**Just to let you know; Mystogan is going to use some new magic that I had to create. It's still awesome, though.)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Copyright of this fan-fiction is FORBIDDEN.**

* * *

All the candidates arrived at Heaven Wolf Island; the holy ground of the guild. With Mystogan tagging along, the chance of running into an S-Class wizard is one in two. All the wizards took the same route as they always will. However; Wendy and Mest have a surprise waiting at route H. Grey and Loke got the quiet path like Gajeel and Levy did.

"Oh crap," Mest said as he saw the banner that said 'Hard Battle'.

Lelouch's voice was heard from a distance. "How nice of you to run into my path, my 'apprentice'." Lelouch appeared in front of Mest and Wendy from a distance. "Oh wait. I don't think that's your name, is it; Magic Council spy?"

Mest was shocked. "How do you know that?"

"Your mistake was assuming Mystogan disappeared for good. Sure; your plan would've worked if Mystogan was no longer here. But since he's standing in front of you, your history in the guild is flawed."

Mest was annoyed. "How is it you're not affected by my magic?"

"If I have to guess; it's that your magic can alter people's memories. Am I wrong?"

Mest scowled.

"My prediction is confirmed." Lelouch smiled under his facemask. "Your magic failed to work on me because you joined the guild before me. If you waited a little longer, I would've been affected as soon as I joined Fairy Tail. But no; you had to stick to the plan because the Magic Council ordered you to. Your plan failed, and everyone will know you're a fake." Lelouch walked closer to Mest. "Now you will answer my questions."

Mest retaliated by going to kick Lelouch's head. But it was an illusion, as Lelouch was actually behind him. He grabbed Mest from behind with binding magic; something Mystogan almost never uses. Mest was held in place. Lelouch walked to the front of Mest.

"Mystogan, what are you doing?" Wendy yelled out.

"It's called interrogation," Lelouch told Wendy.

Mest looked at Lelouch with angered eyes. "You… You're not Mystogan."

"I am now," Lelouch answered back. "Now answer me: what's your real name?"

Mest sighed in frustration. "Fine. I'll tell you. My name is Doranbolt."

"What has the Magic Council ordered you to do?" Lelouch asked.

Doranbolt hesitated, but he answered truthfully. "I am supposed to infiltrate Fairy Tail and make them do something that will force them to disband by orders of the Magic Council."

_I was right, _Lelouch thought. _Now then…_ "Why does the Magic Council want us disbanded?"

"Why should it concern you?" Doranbolt spat back. "You're not even supposed to exist according to our sources. Mystogan is gone; you're just a shadow of his true power."

Lelouch didn't take insults lightly. Since he couldn't use five magic circles, he tried a Four Layered spell, just in case Doranbolt was stronger than he looks. "Four Layered Magic Circle: Orchestra." Orchestra is just a weaker version of Sacred Song, because it requires four magic circles. The spell still looks the same, however. It's just missing the top circle that would create Sacred Song.

Four magic circles appeared above Doranbolt and sent a large purple beam down on him; leaving him in immense pain. Lelouch spoke again after he stopped the attack. "Answer my question."

"It's because Fairy Tail has been nothing but trouble for us!" Doranbolt screamed. "All you do is cause trouble for the Magic Council; you've been doing so for generations!"

"I see." Lelouch didn't expect anything else from the Magic Council.

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Doranbolt yelled.

"My identity is none of your concern," Lelouch said while preparing another attack. "And now you're not part of my concern anymore."

"Stop it!" Wendy ran up to Lelouch and grabbed his arm.

"Relax, Wendy. I'm not going to kill him."

"Just stop it!" she exclaimed.

Lelouch was surprised. _Is she being affected by Doranbolt's magic? What else can he use?_

"I don't care whether or not he's a friend or foe; Fairy Tail wizards don't do this to people!"

Lelouch flinched. "But he's trying to disband us. If I stop him from doing that-"

"If we do something to him that will give the Magic Council a reason to disband us, then what you're doing is pointless!"

_Wendy…_ Lelouch didn't know what to say.

"So please…" Wendy let go and dropped to her knees. "Stop hurting him…" She started crying. Seeing what Lelouch did to Doranbolt was too painful for her to handle.

Lelouch closed his eyes. _I see. You're speaking from your heart. Sorry, Wendy…_ He cancelled his attack and let Doranbolt fall to his knees. "I have one last thing to ask, Doranbolt. Is the Magic Council going to attack Heaven Wolf Island?"

When he was able to move, Doranbolt answered with a nod. "Yes…"

"When?" Lelouch pressed.

"Soon…" That was all Doranbolt could say before falling unconscious.

"Now that 'Mest' has failed the exam, he will have to go back to the camp. However; I think you should take him with you to Natsu's location. Is that understood, Wendy?"

Wendy didn't understand. "But why?"

"Because I have a feeling something is going to happen on the island."

"How do you know?"

"I can't tell you yet," Lelouch walked over to Doranbolt and motioned Wendy over.

Wendy walked over after getting up from her knees.

"I need you to heal him before he moves anywhere. Can you do that?" Lelouch asked the Sky Dragon Slayer.

She nodded and started healing Doranbolt.

"I'll be going back to camp. I'll notify everyone there of the situation." With that, Lelouch disappeared.

* * *

The first round has finished and Grimoire Heart has arrived at Heaven Wolf Island, with Tsumibito standing atop of the airship again. Tsumibito got all of the other Kin to carry out his orders; Ultear's being the most important. Everyone was assigned wizards to kill. Tsumibito knew that not all of them will succeed, but he decided to dispose of them in the most practical way possible.

_Excellent, _Tsumibito thought to himself._ Soon I will gain two more chess pieces to use at my disposal._

Shokan appeared behind Tsumibito. "I'm here."

"Good to know," Tsumibito said back. "Do you think you can handle Gildarts?"

"I know I can," Shokan answered. "My magic is designed to fight his."

"You only know it because your guild's Master was lucky enough to obtain it."

"I'm aware of that."

"Go," Tsumibito ordered.

Shokan headed for Heaven Wolf Island in pursuit of Gildarts.

Tsumibito headed for Master Hades in the main room. He found him. "Master Hades; do you know what to do?"

"Your orders aren't hard to follow." Hades stood up from his seat and headed for the door. "Don't forget your part for the plan." He left the room.

Tsumibito smiled. "I never forget my plans." He vanished instantly and appeared on top of the airship. He jumped down to the beach's shore of Heaven Wolf Island; creating a shockwave that made a twenty-metre crater. _Here I come, Lelouch!_ He unleashed his white wings and headed for the sky in search of his other half. "Why don't I make a clearing?" He stopped in the air, focused some energy at a spot in the forest and made a fist. As he did that, a large white explosion evaporated everything in the vicinity. All that remained was a large crater that spread two-hundred metres across. "Nothing there. But now that I got everyone's attention, it's time I should search for Lelouch. But before that; I need to separate him from anyone else." Tsumibito reconsidered. "How about after Bluenote decides to come out? Then I'll make my move." He smirked, and broke into a small chuckle, then a mad laugh.

* * *

Tsumibito's plan didn't go accordingly completely. Azuma defeated Panther Lily, Doranbolt (he and Wendy went to relax first; Panther Lily never got to interrogate Doranbolt because of Lelouch), Carla, Wendy, Mirajane and Lisanna. Meredy drew against Juvia. Kain Hikaru lost to Lucy and Natsu. Makarov lost to Master Hades. Rustyrose defeated Elfman and Evergreen. Capricorn defected and is now Lucy's celestial spirit (thanks to Leo). Ultear has retrieved Zeref. And finally, Zancrow lost to Natsu and Makarov. No one knows where he is yet.

_Half the Kin of Purgatory have been defeated,_ Tsumibito thought. _Now is the perfect time for Bluenote to appear. I should look for Lelouch before he gets to the camp._ With that in mind, Tsumibito flew to where Lelouch is likely to be; Mavis Vermillion's grave. He noticed a large amount of gravity has been affected at the front of the island. _Looks like Bluenote has arrived to probably find Fairy Glitter._ He arrived at Mavis' grave.

"Four Layered Magic Circle: Orchestra."

Four magic rings appeared above Tsumibito and a large purple beam came down hard. Tsumibito dodged before that. _Excellent! He's here!_ Tsumibito smirked.

Lelouch appeared where Tsumibito stood. He gasped when he saw who Tsumibito looked like. "You… You look like… Me?"

"That's correct!" Tsumibito lifted his right arm to his right eye. "It's good to see you, Lelouch; my other half!" He thrust his arm forward.

Lelouch didn't move. He looked at Tsumibito with fear and confusion. _What is going on? _"Who are you?"

Tsumibito became smug. "Alright; I'll tell you. I am Tsumibito; leader of the Eight Kin of Purgatory. I am also you, Lelouch."

_If he knows my name then he must know about my past!_ Lelouch tried using binding magic on Tsumibito to make sure he stays. But Tsumibito vanished before Lelouch could do anything.

"Ah-ah-ah, Lelouch." Tsumibito appeared behind him. "Don't think because I'm you that I'm as slow as you are as well."

Lelouch scowled and leapt forward; away from Tsumibito. "Tell me: what do you know about my past?" Lelouch demanded.

"I'm not inclined to tell you anything at this point." Tsumibito tilted his head to the left. "But I'll tell you one last thing; you have a special power that I want, Lelouch. You hide it with contact lenses."

Lelouch was getting very nervous. "You know what my power is?"

"I know everything about your power!" Tsumibito was behind Lelouch again. "It's called Geass. It's a power from another world that allows you to command anyone to do as you wish. I want it for myself."

Lelouch wasn't going to let this person take his 'Geass'. He took out his staves and prepared his ultimate illusion. "Skyscraper!"

Tsumibito flew up to avoid the large white beam coming down on Lelouch's location. "Idiot…" But he heard roars from above him. He looked up and saw horrifying things coming out of a portal in the sky. "You really think this will work on me?" He attacked the monsters with a small blast of white magic and shattered Lelouch's attack. But Lelouch was no longer at Mavis' grave. "You can run, but you can't hide, Lelouch vi Britannia!" He took to the sky again in pursuit of his other half.

_Damn it!_ Lelouch was hiding in the forest. He took off his facemask. _I didn't want to use this, but I have no choice in the matter._ He made hand signs in quick succession. "You're not going to beat me, Tsumibito." He slapped the ground and a magic circle appeared. "I prepared this tactic as soon as I got on the island. I figured Grimoire Heart would attack us, so I made sure to do this as soon as possible." A large blinding light engulfed Heaven Wolf Island. It was another illusion, but it required Lelouch to charge it up before using it.

Tsumibito covered his eyes. "I thought you would do something while hiding. Now where are you?"

Lelouch took to the sky thanks to Mystogan's magic. He found Tsumibito. He made more hand signs and took out his staves. They spun in a circle behind him. "Four Layered Magic Circle: Mirror World!" Tsumibito was surrounded by hundreds of mirrors that formed a sphere around him.

_What the hell?_ Tsumibito still didn't know what was happening, but he felt trapped by something. The bright light finally subsided and he saw all the mirrors. "So that's what you did," he said as he looked at his reflections. "You used the light you prepared to your advantage by sealing me in one of Mystogan's spells. Clever, but I'm going easy on you." He raised his left hand. "You can't defeat my magic with someone else's." He swung his left hand across his body. The mirrors shattered one by one.

_What? Impossible! That was one of my strongest spells!_ Lelouch started feeling hopeless now.

"You don't see it, do you Lelouch?" Tsumibito vanished again and was now in front of Lelouch. He brought his fist down on Lelouch's collarbone, making Lelouch fall into the forest and land on his back. He was holding where Tsumibito hit him; tightly.

Lelouch felt like crying; he's never felt so much pain in his life. _Shit! My collarbone's broken!_

Tsumibito stood over him. "Mystogan's power is not your own. You can't best me if you don't awaken your own magic power inside you."

_I have magic power inside me? How does he know that for certain?_ Lelouch was so frightened and in so much pain. He can't win.

"Now then," Tsumibito said as he raised his right hand. Red electricity circulated around it. "About your Geass."

_That's right! I can use that!_ Lelouch quickly let go of his collarbone and removed his contacts. "Die!" His Geass activated. _If what he's said is true, then it should work on him too!_

But Tsumibito stood there, still charging his right hand with red electricity. "Sorry. But your Geass doesn't work twice on one person."

Lelouch gasped. He lost.

"You wouldn't remember, but in our own world you used Geass on yourself before. Since I am you, using Geass on me is useless. You lost, Lelouch. And now your Geass will be mine." The Heaven Wolf tree broke apart at this time. _It looks like Azuma completed his part of the mission._ He brought his hand down on Lelouch's face. Red electricity shocked Lelouch's body to the core. He screamed in absolute agony.

_Damn it,_ Lelouch thought as Tsumibito lifted him from the ground and held him in the air; still grabbing onto his face. _What happened to my magic power?_ He screamed louder as Tsumibito started absorbing his Geass. His right eye's Geass symbol began wavering and fading.

Tsumibito's right eye started to gain Lelouch's Geass. _Yes… With this I'll succeed in my ultimate plan!_ However; Tsumibito knew that the process will take a while. So for now, he thought about the situation with the other Kin. _The only person who hasn't done anything yet is Shokan. Perhaps he's waiting for Bluenote to lose to Gildarts._ He focused his attention on Lelouch again. _How about I take him for a ride?_ Tsumibito extended his wings, but they disintegrated as soon as they appear. _Damn it! _Tsumibito scowled in annoyance. _I forgot Lelouch is a member of Fairy Tail as well; if his power is gone, so is mine._ Tsumibito sighed. "It looks like we're staying here for a while." He smiled slightly. "But don't worry; you'll get used to the pain of your eyes losing the power soon."

Lelouch was controlling his screaming a little better.

Tsumibito brought Lelouch closer to his face. "Think of it this way. Your Geass is a curse; it poisons your very life." Tsumibito's right eye had a bright bird-like symbol inside. The iris started turning pink. "If you let me take your Geass away from you, your life may be better than what it once was. Maybe those around you won't suffer from your decisions. The ones you loved from the world you came from suffered as much as you did. And it's all thanks to your Geass. Let me take that burden from you, Lelouch. Do you want a better life? Do you want those around you to be able to get close to you?"

Lelouch thought about what his other half said. _A curse? Maybe he's right… If he knows about my past, then he must be right. Maybe… Just maybe… My life will be better._

* * *

Meanwhile; those at the camp were wondering where Lelouch was while Rustyrose was fighting Fried and Bickslow. Their magic power was all drained.

Lisanna struggled to speak. "Mystogan… Where are you?" She started tearing up. "We need you here… You're our only hope right now. Please…" She clenched her fist. "Make a miracle happen."

Levy spoke up too. "Mystogan… Can't you do something for us? Please help us… Make a miracle happen…"

Fried was thinking something similar. _Mystogan… If you really are on this island, then you must be able to do something. I have a feeling that everyone not here at the camp are in the same situation as us. But you're different. So please, make a miracle happen._

* * *

Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Carla, Happy and Makarov have collapsed on the ground too.

Lucy thought about Lelouch like the others. _Lelouch… Where are you? Are you okay?_

Natsu was doing the same thing. _Lelouch… If you're an S-Class wizard; then make a miracle happen._

* * *

Erza was being hit by Azuma's strongest magic; Cry of the Earth. But as she regained her senses, she went to attack Azuma with all she had. _Everyone… Thank you. Mystogan… No, Lelouch; if I know what kind of person you are, even though I've only met you a few times, you are a Fairy Tail wizard that cares for those around him. If you could figure out that Mest wasn't a real member of our guild, then you can probably make a miracle happen._

* * *

"_Make a miracle happen."_ Lelouch heard these words ring in his head. Lelouch frowned mentally and stopped screaming; instead he's now groaning. _Wait… My life will be better? What a joke. This is the only life I know. I don't remember anything from my past at all; all I know is my first name. As far as I know, this is my life. It's worked fine for me up until now._ His right eye started to waver more. _Tsumibito… You bastard. How dare you try taking the one thing from my past away from me! I. Won't. Let you!_ The electricity increased and Lelouch yelped in pain. Lelouch fought the urge to give up. _A miracle… How can I do that? Hold on; miracles don't exist, do they? Everything can be explained with enough reason._ Lelouch smiled as his right eye lost all its power; returning to normal, and his left eye started losing its power much faster.

Tsumibito saw this and smiled wickedly. _Just a little more… Just a little more and Lelouch will no longer have Geass! It will be mine! Mine!_ He had his right eye in a permanent state of Geass.

_If I am to perform a 'miracle', I'd pass it out with a calculation; that would be a miracle. If I know my guild, then they'd be fighting the other Kin. If I trust their capabilities, they would find a way to get their magic power restored. Fairy Tail wizards: save yourselves! Do it for our guild!_ At this time, Erza defeated Azuma and Lelouch gained control over his staves. _Yes… They did it!_ "Four Layered… Magic Circle…" Lelouch declared through the pain of Tsumibito's electricity. "Sky Beam…!"

Tsumibito gasped and let go before he could absorb all of Lelouch's Geass. Lelouch's Geass was as powerful as when he first obtained it. Tsumibito's right eye was permanently active; his left eye was almost complete. When he backed off, he grabbed Lelouch's contacts from Lelouch's left hand at the same time and put them over his own eyes. Instead of red eyes, Tsumibito had purple eyes now.

Lelouch's magic concentrated a massive storm cloud from the sky. The clouds came down to where Tsumibito was; surrounding him. A strong beam of lightning came from the sky and struck Tsumibito hard. Trees surrounding the area were snapped in half. The ground had rubble coming up from it; it was coming apart. This was Lelouch's most powerful attack in his disposal.

As the clouds evaporated, Tsumibito was seen slouching forward and clothes damaged. There were a few tears on it. Marks were seen on the surface of his skin. He was panting slightly. "Impressive… I didn't think you could damage me. I guess I underestimated you too much. You're stronger than you look, Lelouch." He looked up at Lelouch with angered eyes.

Lelouch's stomach sank. _That was my most powerful attack and it only barely hurt him…_ He took a step forward but felt a pain in his collarbone. He forgot it was broken. He fell to his knees and dropped his staves.

"I should've done this first," Tsumibito whispered to himself as he focused energy where the staves were. He made a fist. All at once; the staves broke apart.

Lelouch gasped. _My power… It's gone!_

"That's it, Lelouch. You no longer have magic power. Your only weapon now is your Geass; which has lost almost all of its power anyway." He walked slowly towards Lelouch while limping on his right leg. "I must say though; you did well with keeping up Mystogan's reputation. It was a shame you didn't have the last staff, however. You may have done more damage if you had it." He walked slower and slower towards his other half.

* * *

As Tsumibito fought Lelouch, Shokan of Tartaros found Gildarts. Bluenote was definitely defeated.

_I thought so,_ Shokan thought as he hid himself from his target. _Bluenote can't defeat Gildarts' magic. Only mine can._ He came out of his hiding spot and created a slight shockwave on the ground; standing perfectly still as he did so.

Gildarts noticed Shokan was behind him. "Who are you? Are you with Grimoire Heart?"

"I'm not," Shokan answered. "My loyalty lies with Tartaros."

_One of the strongest dark guilds apart from Grimoire Heart, huh?_ Gildarts thought. "You do know who I am, right?"

Shokan nodded. "I do. That's why I'm here. I'm going to defeat you myself."

Gildarts smirked. "You're pretty arrogant if you think I can be defeated by someone from your guild."

"You haven't seen my magic yet."

Gildarts went to collapse the ground around Shokan to distract him.

Nothing happened. Gildarts was shocked. _What the hell? I should be able to crush the ground._

"Noticed something?" Shokan got up close to Gildarts at incredible speed. "Like I said; don't think you can win against someone who hasn't used their magic at their fullest."

"Who are you?" Gildarts scowled.

"How rude," Shokan said in his usual stoic tone. "I thought I said I'm from Tartaros. But if you must persist; my name is Shokan. I have what's known as Density magic; it's a lost magic that makes the surrounding area I choose to expand my range to so dense that nothing can break through it. Not even your Crash magic can shatter my density. Also," He punched Gildarts in the stomach; causing Gildarts to gag. "My body becomes as dense as my magic's. So not only am I skilled in fighting; my attacks hit harder as well."

"Damn it." Gildarts was frustrated that he met someone who can resist his magic. It was so specific! It was almost like it was designed to counteract Crash magic. Gildarts' magic power flared wildly, causing Shokan to jump back to where he landed.

_However,_ Shokan thought as he watched Gildarts grow stronger. _That doesn't mean you're any less intimidating._

"I guess I can't hold back with you," Gildarts said. He looked at Shokan with glowing red eyes as his form became more demonic-looking. "Let's go." _Damn… Can I really fight in my condition?_

* * *

As Tsumibito came closer, Lelouch thought about the first person he met in Fiore._ Mystogan… I'm sorry. I couldn't protect everyone like you wanted me to. Without your power, what can I do? All I have is my Geass, and that won't work on Tsumibito._

"Now then," Tsumibito said. "After I kill you, no-one will stand in my way. Once you're gone, Fairy Tail will be gone too. All your friends will fall by my hands. And soon after that, I will use my Geass to control the whole world. Everything will be mine. I will do what you never were able to pull off in your previous life. While you conquered your world for two months, I will control this world for as long as I reign…!"

Lelouch scowled. _No… I controlled the world? What kind of person was I before I came here? _"Tsumibito… I won't let you go through with your plan."

"Oh?" Tsumibito stopped walking.

"If I really did control the world, I would have done it for a good cause. I may have lost my memory, but how I treat other people and think of other people should not have changed…!" Lelouch slowly got to his feet, still holding his broken collarbone. "Everyone wears a mask. So if you're right, I would have worn a mask that was of a monster! You may be a part of me, but understand this. I'm not like you! I WON'T LET YOU EVER SUCCEED IN YOUR PLAN!" Lelouch became engulfed by massive black energy; expanding three metres from Lelouch's location in a circle. It reached for the air. Lelouch's magic power has finally awakened.

Tsumibito gasped. "I know that magic…! That lost magic is only told in legends! They say they can only obtain it by overcoming their previous life's sins. Lelouch… You're the new generation's Black Angel; user of Black Angel magic!"

Black magic wings extended out of Lelouch's back. "Black Angel… How fitting." He lifted his left hand from his collarbone. "What would yours be?"

Tsumibito regained his composure a little more. "White Demon magic; although it's never been heard of. I'm the first one ever to obtain it."

"I see," Lelouch said. "So it's anti-Black Angel magic?" A ball of black magic formed in Lelouch's hand. "I guess that means my magic is anti-White Demon magic." The ball fired at Tsumibito. Tsumibito couldn't dodge, so he took the full blast, leaving a large hole on his clothing around his chest area.

Lelouch couldn't move from where he was standing. Nor did he know how to use his wings. _I can't keep this up for long. I'm starting to lose consciousness._ He fired another ball of his magic at Tsumibito, but this time he fired his own attack to stop it. The two projectiles exploded on contact. _Damn it… _Lelouch dropped to one knee. He tried firing another projectile, but it missed Tsumibito.

Tsumibito fired one as well, but that too, missed. _Shit… Sky Beam is taking its toll on me right now._ He dropped on his right knee. _I need to get to Shokan. Our mission is over. I don't need Hades. He'll be bothersome. From what I can tell, Ultear may have betrayed Grimoire Heart already._ White wings extended from Tsumibito. "Goodbye, Lelouch. We'll meet again later." He lifted from the ground in search for Shokan.

"No…" Lelouch fell onto his left side, and his wings disappeared. "Come back here, you bastar…." Lelouch fell unconscious.

* * *

Tsumibito quickly found Shokan and landed beside him. Shokan didn't look hurt, but the damaged area would've suggested they at least fought. Gildarts fell down in exhaustion. "Shokan, we're leaving."

"Understood." Shokan faced Tsumibito. "Gildarts wasn't able to fight anyway, so I let him be."

"So it looks like Bluenote did better than I calculated. Anyway, we need to get off the island. I sense that Zeref killed Zancrow, Ultear and Meredy defected from Grimoire Heart, and the others have lost. I'm leaving Grimoire Heart as well. What about you? Are you staying with Tartaros?"

"If it's in your interests, then I will. I never really got along with anyone there anyway. By the way, when did you ever have purple eyes?"

Tsumibito took off his right contact and showed Shokan his new found power. "These belonged to Lelouch. But he won't need them anymore."

"So you succeeded."

"Not entirely," Tsumibito admitted as he put the contact lens back on. "He still has the power, but it's no way near as strong as it once was."

"I see."

Tsumibito turned around and walked back, but fell on his knee again. "Shit, it's still injured."

Shokan held Tsumibito's arm over his shoulder. "Let me help."

"Thanks."

With that, Tsumibito and Shokan left Heaven Wolf Island right before the battle Fairy Tail will have with Master Hades of Grimoire Heart.

End of Chapter 4

**(A/N: Wow. This is the longest chapter I ever wrote. Seven pages and over 4,700 words is a lot.**

**Well there you have it. Tsumibito defeated Mystogan and permanently crippled his magic, but Lelouch awakened his very own power. Lelouch's Geass was stolen and reverted back to how he first got it. Tsumibito now has Geass, Shokan defeated a weakened Gildarts… So much has already happened.**

**Next chapter should be the final one for the Heaven Wolf Island arc, and… Well, you know what happened fairly recently. Now I shall work on it.**

**This is Epic Ebi, going on a job!)**


	5. December 16 X 784 Part 1

Chapter 5: December 16, X 784 – Part 1

**(A/N: We all know what will happen next. So let's cut to the chase.**

**Previously on Fairy Chess: Lelouch is unconscious after awakening his magic power and suffering from his defeat against his other half, Tsumibito. Fairy Tail is preparing its final battle with Grimoire Heart. Tsumibito and Shokan defected from Grimoire Heart and Tartaros respectively. Zeref hasn't been captured. Heaven Wolf Island has become a monstrous battlefield of powerful wizards.**

**What inevitability awaits our young Lelouch? What will happen to Fairy Tail's strongest wizards?)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Copyright of this fan-fiction is FORBIDDEN; as can only copy this. Soul Chess inspired my title; draconichero is okay with it.**

* * *

A lot of time has passed since Lelouch fell unconscious from his battle with Tsumibito. The Magic Council (who came to 'investigate' Heaven Wolf Island) retreated after hearing from Doranbolt that Zeref foretold Acnologia's arrival. All of the other wizards who didn't go to fight Hades are at the camp still recovering. Natsu, Grey, Lucy, Erza and Wendy have all headed out to defeat Master Hades; former guild Master of Fairy Tail. At the moment, Hades has taken the full brunt of Natsu's Thunder-Flame Dragon Roar (courtesy of Laxus, who gave Natsu most of his magic power). All it did, however, was hurt Hades enough to make him resort to his last trump card. Fairy Tail has run out of magic power to keep going against Hades. All hope seems lost.

Hades took off his eye-patch. "Devil's Eye… Open!" His right eye shone a fierce red.

Everyone became scared as dark magic surrounded Hades' being as well as them.

"I'll show you all, special… The depths of magic… This is a realm which far surpasses even your imagination."

Grey spoke up. "Impossible!"

Wendy began crying a little. "I… can't believe this…"

Erza was stunned so bad she couldn't move. "I've never felt magic power like this before!"

"It's still growing!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It is over, Fairy Tail!"

Natsu moved a little bit before it became too much.

Lucy has been holding him this entire time. "Natsu!"

Natsu lightly punched the wooden floor. "Damn it!" He looked up at Hades. "I don't even have enough strength to move…"

Hades' magic power was controlled enough to just spiral around his legs. Hades stared at the young wizards as his cape floated from the wind.

Everyone dropped to their knees.

"The depths of magic…" Grey said.

"What indescribable magic power!" Erza exclaimed.

Wendy was scared. Her mouth has practically dropped.

Natsu was bent over; hands now on the ground.

Lucy tried to hold Natsu up. "Natsu, get yourself together! Please!"

He coughed. "I can't move…" He coughed again.

Hades spoke. "The farther along the path of magic you tread, the deeper you sink toward the depths of darkness." He started to raise his right hand. "And what you find there in the depths, glistening…" Dark magic formed over Hades' hand. "… Is the One magic! Just a little farther…" He clenched his fist. "Just a little farther and I will reach the One magic; but that 'just a little' is so very deep!" His magic went upwards. "To fill that depth, the World of Great Magic is needed! A world with Zeref! Soon, the world will change with Zeref's awakening. And, it will finally come into my hands… The One magic!"

"The One magic?" Erza was a bit confused.

Lucy thought about those words. _I know that I've heard this somewhere before… _She remembered who told her. _From Mom?_

"You all cannot go to the World of Great Magic," Hades said as his magic formed over the shape of his body. He held his right arm up and his left hand down. He started rotating them. "You lack the conviction to dive into the depths!"

"What kind of pose is that?" Grey never saw anyone use a stance like Hades is using.

Hades' right arm is down in front of him, and his left arm is held up behind him. "From the Book of Zeref; Volume Four, Verse Twenty: Hidden Magic, Nemesis!" The ground shook as strange creatures came out of broken debris.

A young man with black hair and purple eyes did a 'flash step' and got behind Hades; his hair covering his eyes. "What do you think you're doing?"

Hades flinched and cancelled his attack. He looked behind him to see Mystogan of Fairy Tail. No… He's no longer Mystogan. He's Lelouch, a member of Fairy Tail in his own right. "What the…? You look like…"

Lelouch's magic power fluctuated erratically. It was weak for one second and powerful the next. He could hardly control it. "What do you hope to accomplish by finding this 'Zeref' person and controlling the world? Do you think the world will be a better place if you kill people who aren't worthy of being a part of your new world?" Lelouch looked up slowly. "To me, you're as bad as Tsumibito. You both seem to think that absolute control can unite the world to become as you desire. But the truth is… People want to live as they choose to. They don't like it when other people control their lives for them; they want to create their own future. So you…" Lelouch raised his magic power slightly higher as he raised his left hand.

Hades gasped.

"You have no right to kill other people. The only ones who should kill…!" Lelouch formed a black ball of magic in his left hand. "ARE THOSE WHO ARE PREAPERED TO BE KILLED!"

A large beam of Lelouch's magic blasted Hades' whole body. Natsu and the others were given time to dodge out of the way.

"No way…" Natsu was amazed.

"When did Mystogan get that incredible power?" Lucy questioned.

Grey spoke up. "I don't think Mystogan was ever that strong without his staves."

"Mystogan never had that kind of power to begin with," said Erza. "I say Lelouch awakened his own inside of him!"

Wendy was still shocked, but at least a little calmer from seeing another member of Fairy Tail. "Oh wow…"

After Lelouch's attack ceased, he dropped to his knees again. He was still in a lot of pain from his last battle. Hades fell to the ground, mouth gaping. His clothes were tattered. His cape was blasted to tiny bits.

"So don't think…" Lelouch looked up as he held his broken collarbone again. "That you can do as you wish with people…" He fell forward.

But before he fell on his face, Wendy managed to get on her feet and caught Lelouch.

"Are you okay, Mystogan?" Wendy asked sincerely.

Lelouch chuckled a little. "I told you all before…" He looked up at Wendy with a small smile. "When no-one else who doesn't know who I am is around… Call me Lelouch…"

Natsu, Lucy, Grey and Erza slowly came over to Lelouch as well.

Lucy was still holding Natsu up. "Lelouch, that was incredible."

Natsu looked at Lelouch. "Yeah, where the hell did you learn that magic?" He coughed again. Lucy helped him back down on his knees.

Erza spoke. "What happened to Mystogan's staves?"

"Destroyed…" Lelouch looked away.

"By who?" Grey asked.

_Should I tell them who Tsumibito is?_ Lelouch thought to himself. _Yes… I shouldn't hide too many things from those I trust._ "My other half," he said.

"What?" Wendy couldn't believe it. Neither could anyone else for that matter.

"Are you kidding?" Natsu asked. "Who is he?"

"He's the leader of the Eight Kin of Purgatory and possesses White Demon magic. His name is Tsumibito," Lelouch answered.

"White Demon magic?" Lucy asked.

"I've never heard of that before," Erza said.

"No… No-one has." Lelouch began to explain it to his fellow guild members. "White Demon magic is the opposite of my magic; Black Angel magic."

"Black Angel magic?" said Grey.

Lelouch explained this as well. "My magic is only told in legends, apparently. You can only obtain it by overcoming your previous life's sins."

_He's similar to Jellal then, _Erza thought. "But how do you know this?"

"Because Tsumibito told me during our fight," said Lelouch. A sudden jolt of pain went through Lelouch's collarbone. He groaned in pain.

"Lelouch, what's wrong?" Wendy asked. "Are you hurt?"

"During my fight with Tsumibito he broke my collarbone…" Lelouch clenched his teeth together.

Wendy made Lelouch sit down on his backside instead of his knees. "Don't worry, I'll heal you."

"But Wendy, you can't," said Lucy. "You don't have any magic power at the moment."

Grey agreed. "She's right; none of us do."

"But I…" Wendy looked defeated. "He helped us even though he's injured."

"It's okay Wendy," Erza claimed. "If Lelouch was strong enough to come help us despite his injury, then he should be fine."

A loud bang was heard from somewhere else on the ship. It was Happy, Carla and Panther Lily; and they destroyed Hades' source of power. Everyone looked at where the sound came from.

Lelouch didn't know what that was. "What was…?"

"That would've been Happy and the others," Erza explained. "It looks like they found the source of the ship's power."

"Way to go, Happy." Natsu smiled. He was proud of his partner.

The ceiling above Lelouch and the others started crumbling down. Without thinking, Lelouch activated a black shield surrounding his allies (as well as Hades, but only because he hasn't moved from the spot where Lelouch obliterated him). When the ceiling stopped collapsing, Lelouch cancelled his magic shield.

_How did I do that?_ Lelouch figured he had a lot to learn about his new power.

The sky was clear, and the Heaven Wolf tree on the island was being restored by Ultear. Not that anyone knew that. The marks on all the Fairy Tail members shone brightly. Lelouch's did as well; on his back. Once it was fixed, the Fairy Tail members who fought Hades were able to move around more. Natsu got up on his feet, with Lucy helping him up slowly. As soon as Wendy felt her magic power come back, she immediately started healing Lelouch's right collarbone. She felt a little dizzy, but she was determined to help their hero. Grey, Erza and Lucy are standing up.

"It's over…" Grey said with a smile on his face.

"Yeah," Erza replied as she requipped into her basic armour.

Happy and Carla came in at this time. He was crying.

"Everyone!" Carla called out.

"Save me, Natsu!" Happy cried out.

"You guys…" Natsu said, while looking at Happy and Carla's direction.

"Are those…?" Lucy was looking in the same direction as Natsu.

Grimoire Heart grunts were chasing the Fairy Tail Exceeds.

"This isn't good," said Grey.

"Curses…" Erza was worried. "There's too many of them."

Panther Lily winced. "Sorry, but I should've dealt with them myself. But I didn't have enough magic power to take them on myself."

Happy was still crying. "They're all angry!"

Carla was more composed. "Well, I don't really blame them."

A footstep was heard from behind Natsu and his friends. "That's far enough!" It was Makarov, along with (from left to right) Evergreen, Bickslow, Fried, Lisanna, Cana, Levy, Elfman, Mirajane and Gajeel. Makarov was in front.

_Good. They made it like I asked._ Lelouch smiled as it was him who went to them after his battle to ask them to come over to Grimoire Heart's airship.

Natsu smirked as he saw who came to the rescue. "Gramps!"

Lucy was happy too. "Everyone!"  
Wendy looked up from healing Lelouch. She was happy as well. "Master; and Gajeel-san, too!"

"I'm glad you're all safe!" Grey was happy as well.

Erza was relieved. "Yes." She thought about Azuma. "With the island returned to normal, so is its divine protection…"

The Exceeds were glad.

Laxus stared at Makarov; a loss for words. Makarov, likewise for his grandson.

One of the Grimoire Heart grunts spoke up. "There's more of them!"

A female grunt spoke. "Isn't that Makarov?"

A third one pointed to their left. "And look over there!" Everyone else looked at that direction.

A fourth one said, "Master Hades…"

And a fifth one exclaimed, "He's been defeated!"

Makarov spoke to all of the Grimoire Heart grunts. "Get off this island this instant!"

They all complied and ran for their lives. None of them would've dared even think about fighting the guild Master of Fairy Tail.

Everyone rejoiced over their victory against Grimoire Heart. Instead of celebrating with Cana, Lucy went over and hugged Lelouch's head, sticking it in her breasts unintentionally. Lelouch blushed. She startled Wendy, who fell over backwards.

"Um… Lucy?" Lelouch muffled. He couldn't speak properly.

Lucy suddenly realised and blushed brighter than a cherry, and she let go. "SORRY, SORRY! I DIDN'T REALISE!"

Lelouch was flustered. "No, um… It's fine. Don't worry." He blinked once.

Lucy blinked too. She broke out a cheery grin. "It looks like you saved us. Thanks, Lelouch."

Lelouch stopped blushing and smiled too. "It was nothing."

Wendy got up on her knees, and finished off healing Lelouch's collarbone. He could move his right arm without any pain now. "Thank you, Wendy."

Wendy smiled too. "No, thank you. Without you coming to save us, I don't know if we'd be celebrating!"

* * *

Fried, Bickslow and Evergreen, Elfman and Levy all noticed Mystogan wasn't covering his face. When Lelouch came to them at the camp, he hid his face beforehand.

"Hey, is that Mystogan?" Levy asked.

Gajeel answered. "Yeah, it is. That's Mystogan."

Makarov walked up to them. "Allow me to explain." He told those who didn't know about the situation what happened. He told them that the real Mystogan was in Edolas, and that Lelouch was asked by him (not directly) to take on Mystogan's identity. He also told them that Lelouch can't remember anything apart from his first name.

"I see now," Fried said. "So that's the situation." He looked over to where Lelouch, Lucy and Wendy are. "So his name's Lelouch, and that's all he remembers?"

"That's quite tragic." Laxus joined in as soon as Makarov started explaining Lelouch's story. His Thunder God tribe noticed him when he spoke up.

Fried said while shaking (like the others), "L-Laxus…!"

"Yes," Makarov replied. "Those who knew at first-hand would've felt that he needed a family to care for him. By the way…" He looked at Laxus.

Laxus looked away, trying to ignore his grandfather.

Makarov spoke in a serious tone. "You did good, coming back." Makarov's head grew in size. "… You think that's what I'd tell you, blockhead? You think you can set foot on Heaven Wolf Island while you're still expelled?"

Laxus was getting bugged by Makarov's screaming in his ear. "Pipe down, old man…"

Levy stepped in. "Master, please calm down."

Panther Lily was fascinated. "His face is huge!"

Levy kept trying to de-escalate the problem. "Now, now…"

When the opportunity arose, Laxus' subordinates glomped him. They spoke simultaneously, "Laxus, you're back?"

Laxus couldn't move. "… Get off me," he said.

Elfman and Mirajane looked over.

"Master sure is harsh…" Elfman folded his arms. "'Cause he's a Man."

"Yes," Mirajane said. "While he's still expelled, is it?"

Natsu was fired up. He held his fist in the air. "Okay! Time to continue the exam!"

Happy was shocked. "You're gonna do it now?"

Natsu looked at Happy and explained, "The second test was interrupted so it doesn't count!" He started shadow boxing the air. "So let's just do things nice and simple with a big battle!" He shadow boxed a few more times.

Gajeel got in Natsu's space. "What's wrong with your head? You think you can beat me when you're that busted up?"

Levy tried de-escalating this argument as well. "Stop it, Gajeel!"

Natsu gave a huge slasher smile. He liked the challenge. "Yeah, it'll be a cinch! 'Cause right now I'm a Thunder-Fla…" Natsu paused.

"H-Hey…" Gajeel was a little freaked out.

Natsu fell over sideways.

"Natsu?" Levy didn't get what happened.

Gajeel got annoyed. "What kind of passing out is that?"

Erza slyly stood in. "Looks like a side effect from eating something other than flames."

Lelouch looked on at the events happening. _Wow… Whoever thought they'd be so cheerful after such a huge battle? You guys are amazing. I can only dream of being that excited. _Lelouch smiled.

Wendy was holding Carla like a plush toy as she spoke again. "Anyway, shall we return to the camp?"

Laxus was being helped up after his allies' 'glomp attack' as Carla spoke. "We have to rest a bit or else our bodies won't hold up.

Lelouch nodded as he stood up, feeling refreshed. "You have a point. We should go."

"Let's head back," said Mirajane.

Lelouch walked over to Natsu. "Here. Give me your hand, Natsu."

Natsu paused, and then gave a grin. "Thanks, Lelouch!" He grabbed Lelouch's hand with enthusiasm. Lelouch picked him up on his feet and held Natsu's arm over his neck. They walked over to Lucy.

"You ready?" Lelouch asked Lucy.

"Yeah, thanks for asking." Lucy followed Lelouch and Natsu to the rest of the group.

* * *

Hades was still lying on the ground, but was at least conscious. "Makarov…"

Makarov stopped when he heard his name being called by his former Master.

"Finish me off," Hades requested.

Makarov stayed silent for a short moment. "I learned something very important from you," he started. "In return, I will overlook what you did this time. Leave this island," he demanded.

Hades wasn't impressed. "Such weakness… If you let me live, the next time I will surely crush your guild."

"I lost to you," Makarov admitted. "But my children beat you."

"Not true. If it wasn't for the black-haired youngster coming in and saving the day, I would not have lost to your brats."

Makarov closed his eyes. He opened them and asked, "Why did you fall to darkness?"

"I told you, once," Hades began. "The true nature of magic is darkness. Miracles that are born in the darkness have come to be called 'magic'." He continued. "After I retired, I wished to find the truth of this world by walking deep down the path of magic. This world, overflowing with too much magic, is a false world. The World of Great Magic is the true magic world!" He paused. He spoke again. "I wanted to see that world. And for that goal, I obtained all the keys I needed to resurrect Zeref." He raised his right hand into the air. "Just a little more! I was so close; so close to reaching the One magic!"

Makarov disagreed with one thing. "Even if you find it, nothing will change."

Hades opened his eyes in surprise.

Laxus looked back after hearing his grandfather saying that.

Makarov continued. "If magic's true nature is darkness, so be it. And if it's light, that's fine, too." His own magic glowed in his right hand. "Magic is alive! Its role changes with the times." He clenched his fist and looked up to the sky. "It grows, along with us. Every person has their own version of what 'magic' is… Each person thinks of it differently… It can become light, or darkness… Or red, or even blue…" A breeze passed through. "Fairy Tail lives together with freedom!" He walked off and said his final words to his former Master. "I learned that all from you."

Hades was at a loss for words. Makarov was right, but it isn't like Hades will believe in all that again. He closed his eyes.

* * *

Heaven Wolf Island looked as good as new. Mavis' grave still shone brightly, the animals were living healthily, and Natsu was snoring.

Elfman was cross with Natsu's noise level. "Shut up, will you, Natsu? Can't you sleep quietly?"

"Why can't we just let him sleep?" Mirajane asked. She was sitting close by to Natsu's head.

Lisanna came up with an idea. "Mira-nee, I just thought of something good!"

Natsu was still sleeping, but his hair had twin-tails.

Lisanna was holding up Natsu to show her sister her work. "It's Twin-tail Natsu! Isn't he cute?"

Elfman was dreading the sight. "Disgusting…"

* * *

Happy and Carla were sitting at a tree stump.

"So that thing we destroyed was Hades' Heart?" Happy asked.

"Maybe it was a lucky break, but we did good work.

Panther Lily walked over. "If we consider that as the power source of the ship, then the Exceed Squad accomplished our mission." He was quite proud of their achievement; despite being not as significant since Lelouch defeated Hades after one attack.

"Yes." Carla agreed.

Happy raised his paw with his spoon in his mouth. "Aye, sir!"

"Hey…" Gajeel came up to the Exceeds' location. He was quite excited to see his own Exceed. "Are you unharmed, Lily?"

"Yes," Lily replied as he looked over to his owner. "In far better shape than you."

* * *

Bickslow was crouching on his haunches, staring at Laxus with glee on his face. His 'babies' were floating in the background. "I'm glad you're back, Laxus!"

"Came back; came back!" Bickslow's 'babies' repeated.

"Yeah, I ain't really back," Laxus replied.

Fried popped up with sparkles and tears of joy. "Laxus is back!"

Laxus looked over at Fried. "I'm trying to tell you…"

Now Evergreen showed up. "Eeeeeehhhh… Elfman did such terrible things to me while you were gone, Laxus!" she teased. "Would you punish him for me?"

Elfman heard that. "You bastard!"

Laxus was curious now. "Oh? When did you two…?" He went up to Elfman with his arms folded.

Elfman lost his cool completely. "Hold it a sec! It's kind of hard to explain!"

Laxus placed his hand on Elfman's shoulder, and nodded in a way that suggests he understands.

Elfman didn't get it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

Wendy was healing Happy and fixing his bandages.

Happy felt better. "It doesn't hurt anymore!"

Wendy wiped her forehead and looked behind her at Levy. "Next, I'll take care of your wounds, Levy-san."

"I'm fine Wendy," Levy shook her hand to say she's alright. "Why don't you rest a bit more?"

"No," she insisted. "I feel great now that the Heaven Wolf tree is back the way it was!"

* * *

A moment passed before Erza wondered about the tree on the island.

"How did the Heaven Wolf tree return to normal?" she wondered.

Grey was with her. He looked off into the sky. _Ultear… No, couldn't be._

The bushes close by to the two rustled from movement. Erza and Grey looked over to notice who was making the noise; it was Juvia. She was worn out.

"Everyone…!" she cried out with her right hand twitching.

"Juvia?" Erza didn't think it was her.

"You're safe?" Grey asked.

Juvia cried more and she said through sobs, "Juvia is so sorry! She let Zeref get away!" She moved over to Grey and shook her backside at him, freaking out Grey. "Grey-sama, please punish me! Hit Juvia as much as you want!"

Grey dreaded the idea, and he strongly refused. "I'm not into that!"

"Yeah, but Juvia is…" She was blushing.

Panther Lily came over. "W-Whoa…"

* * *

Gildarts was sitting next to Laxus; who left the commotion his friends were making over his return.

Gildarts spoke. "By the way…" He smirked. "You went and got expelled?" He laughed a little. "Lame!"

Laxus was a little annoyed. "Shut up, you old fart!"

Lelouch was watching the exchange from the two wizards over at a nearby shady tree and laughed to himself. But he noticed that Lucy and Cana were laughing as well. _Were they watching them as well?_ Lelouch thought. _Are they just observing like me, or is it something else? Oh, here comes Natsu…_

Natsu came up from behind Lucy and Cana and yelled. "Gildarts! Fight me!" He scared the two women.

Lelouch laughed again. _I can't imagine having so much energy so quickly._

When Natsu got close to Gildarts, Gildarts just slammed his fist down on Natsu's head and knocked him out. "You should rest," said Gildarts. He wasn't even looking at Natsu.

Laxus was a bit impressed. "In one blow?"

Lelouch was thinking the same thing. _Who knew Natsu could be taken down so easily? I guess that's why Gildarts is considered the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail apart from Master Makarov._

Gildarts was actually thinking about the man he lost to. _Shokan was his name, I think. How did he obtain such magic? It doesn't make any sense. My magic wasn't supposed to be so easily negated._ He looked at Natsu. _I think I should keep this a secret from Natsu. Who knows what he'll do if I tell him._ He kicked him over to where some of the other males are.

Natsu's head hurt. "Wendy… A little help?"

"Comes in handy…" Bickslow was there too.

"A Man," said Elfman (whatever that meant).

Gajeel was more concerned about his friend Lily than himself. "Make sure you get healed up, Lily."

Panther Lily pointed out, "You took more serious damage than I did."

As Wendy was healing Levy's wounds, she realised something. "Looks like there's a line."

"It's okay," Wendy said enthusiastically. "This is when I can be most helpful!"

"Don't overdo it," Carla insisted.

Erza wanted to join in on the fun. "Wendy, switch places."

Everyone looked over to Erza and noticed she was wearing a nurse's outfit.

Wendy was a little uncomfortable. "Erza-san, that outfit…"

"A nurse?" Carla didn't quite understand. "You don't have any healing power!"

"Difference in ability doesn't matter during battle, Wendy. It's your heart that is tested."

Wendy shrunk in inferiority. "Battle?"

Levy looked a little unnerved.

"Hey," Carla spoke up in Wendy's defence. "Don't go scaring Wendy!"

"Here she goes…" Levy knew what was coming.

As Erza sat down on the box Wendy was sitting on (she's not on it anymore), Elfman took notice of Erza. "Now, tell me straight out…" said Erza in an almost seductive gesture (although she probably did it on purpose). "Where does it hurt? Shall I lower that fever, first? Or would you prefer an injection?"

_Oh no,_ Lelouch thought as he had a flashback of when Erza made him do a hundred-metre sprint.

* * *

"_Okay," Erza walked over to Lelouch, who's pretty much dead from exhaustion. "I see you aren't really fit. Why?"_

_Lelouch couldn't exactly answer that question properly, so he stated what he always has even though Erza never listened at those times. "I thought… I told you…" He was gasping every few words. "I'm not… Fit…!"_

"_I see," Erza said as she requipped into the nurse outfit. "Do you want me to make you feel better?"_

_Lelouch didn't realise at the time, but Erza is not a good choice to go to for first-aid. Not that he would've known that. He was a little distracted at how skimpy Erza looked to him. It's not like she isn't attractive in Lelouch's eyes, but he keeps getting this feeling that he shouldn't get too close to women. He never could figure it out._

_Lelouch said the one thing that he regretted saying ever since. "Yes… Please…"_

_In an instant, Lelouch was tangled up in so many bandages that he was suffocating even more than before._

_Lelouch was no expert at first-aid, but he figured this isn't how you do it. "ERZA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"_

_Erza strengthened the bandages, squeezing Lelouch tighter and shutting him up. He was running out of air._

"_This isn't as easy as it seems," Erza admitted._

"_THEN WHY DID YOU SAY YOU CAN MAKE ME BETT-!" His mouth was now sealed up by bandages as well. He was going to say why Erza thinks she can do first-aid if she really hasn't tried learning it properly._

"_Don't worry, Lelouch," Erza wrapped so many bandages around Lelouch that he looked like a mummy. "I'll make you better in no time."_

_Lelouch let out a muffled scream. He has forever wondered how he got out of those bandages in the first place._

* * *

And there it was. Lelouch saw the same thing happen to Gajeel and Grey. _Poor bastards,_ Lelouch thought as he felt sorry for them. He noticed Juvia and Levy were irritated. He looked at Makarov and Mirajane standing away from the crowd. _Oh? What are they talking about there?_ Lelouch did several 'steps' and got close to Mirajane and Makarov. He was just inside earshot.

"Master," Mirajane said. "What shall we do about the exam?"

"Yes, good question!" Makarov said. "Maybe it's best to head back to the guild and clear our heads!"

_Interesting,_ Lelouch thought. _How would everyone else take that?_

* * *

And then…

The airship for Grimoire Heart flew and began to leave Heaven Wolf Island. Hades, Kain Hikaru and Rustyrose were the only ones left of Grimoire Heart. Hades was wrapped in several bandages. He and the remaining Kin looked defeated. They were in the dinner hall.

Rustyrose broke the silence. "I never could have imagined we would lose…"

"Can't believe it…" Kain seemed to agree.

"Even though Zeref was right there before us…" Rustyrose scowled. "The World of Great Magic was so close!"

Subtle footsteps were heard from the other end of the room. Rustyrose and Kain looked over to the sound.

"Who goes there?" Rustyrose asked.

Kain did the same thing. "Who is it?"

The footsteps were accompanied by a young voice. "Ones such as yourselves created me…"

At that moment, Rustyrose and Kain had disbelief all over their faces.

The voice continued, along with the footsteps. "Wicked minds such as yours summoned Acnologia…"

Hades now saw who it was.

"In other words, I am announcing the end of this age."

The whole room fell dead silent.

The figure opened his eyes. "No-one can stop it any longer." His eyes shone a dark and sinister red. The young person had black hair and old robes. He is known as the strongest dark wizard in history. His name was Zeref. He raised his magic power level. It was a mixture of grey and blue as it surrounded his figure. "The world comes to an end, here and now."

Hades was stunned. "Zeref…"

Rustyrose and Kain went down on their left knee and bowed.

"The Zeref…" Hades was fascinated. "Is standing before my eyes…" He got up from his seat. "Is this a dream? Or reality?"

Zeref looked at Hades with fierce eyes. He wasn't too happy.

But Hades didn't notice. He cracked into a smile with his mouth still open. He looked at Rustyrose. "The keys! Bring the keys!"

But Rustyrose was shaking like a leaf. He couldn't move. "We…"

Kain finished his sentence. He was as scared as Rustyrose was. "We can't move…"

Hades wasn't smiling anymore; he was confused. Haven't these two devoted themselves to resurrecting Zeref?

Zeref closed his eyes. _It looks like I have to point it out._ He opened his eyes again. "There's no need. I am awake."

_What?_ Hades couldn't believe it. _Zeref is already awake? But how?_

"Maybe I'm not one to talk," Zeref continued. "But how many lives did you take in order to get these 'keys'?" he asked.

Hades stopped thinking and noticed Zeref was asking him a question.

"Such a tragedy," said Zeref. "Those 'keys' were nothing more than illusions."

Hades was shocked. "W-What?"

Zeref explained it to him. "Just one of the stories made by a sect of the believers in the Black Wizard Zeref…" He said what they apparently were called. "'The Keys to Resurrect Zeref'."

Rustyrose and Kain were really, really scared right now.

Zeref didn't feel sorry for Hades and the Kin. "Were you fooled by that dusty old fairy tale?"

Hades was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to think. Zeref was right there in front of him, and he's smashing all of Hades' beliefs like a pillar being knocked down.

Zeref stated, "I was never asleep in the first place. The man you see before you is the Black Wizard Zeref."

Hades' jaw dropped as he sat back down in his seat. "You were never asleep?" He frowned and held his hand over his right eye. "I used my 'eye' and saw you! I saw you, not even able to defeat one of my servants!"

Zeref remembered that. That was when he ran into Ultear (not that he knew her name). "Then I can skip to the chase. That was what I was capable of… …back then." The air around him increased as he prepared his attack.

The remaining members of Grimoire Heart were screwed. A black whirlwind formed around Zeref.

He spoke again, telling them about what he saw in his past. "You see; four-hundred years ago I saw countless wars of men… Countless deaths…"

Hades leaned forward in his chair, while the Kin stayed kneeling. They still couldn't move.

"But; after a certain day, I learned the value of life. Ever since then; the more I feel the value of life, the more my accursed body steals people's souls. In order not to steal people's souls, I cannot forget the weight of a human life. I sidelined myself."

_Could that mean…?_ Hades spoke again. "You're saying you were fighting while valuing life?"

"Yes…" Zeref answered. "And because of that, I can't use my magic anywhere close to how I'd wish to… But all that changes if I forget about the value of life."

Kain closed his eyes in fear.

Zeref said, "You were the people who pulled the trigger. Acnologia will herald the end of an era. Your evil deeds have summoned it."

Hades didn't understand. He got up from his seat again. "Acnologia? What in the world are you talking about?"

Zeref wasn't obliged to answer. He raised his hands. "You all shall be punished." He raised his right arm over his head, and kept his left hand below his waist.

Hades tried to appeal to Zeref. "W-Wait! I still have things I want to ask!"

Zeref raised his voice a little over his usual tone. "Your first sin is summoning Acnologia!" His hands were held in front of him. His right hand was facing upwards, with his index and middle finger held up. His left hand was underneath it, holding his middle and ring finger tucked into his palm. His little finger and index finger were held out. His thumbs were tucked in. "And your second sin…"

Hades gasped and lost his breath.

Zeref finished his sentence. "…is making me forget the value of life!"

Hades was doomed.

Zeref spoke one final word to Hades; former guild Master of Fairy Tail. "Repent." A giant black beam ripped through the airship like it was paper. Hades fell over to the floor. Hades was dead.

Rustyrose couldn't believe his eyes. "M-Master Hades is…"

Kain was crying. "D-D-D…" he stuttered.

Zeref glared fiercely at the Kin. "Know your place, trash. Fall to the pits of hell."

"I think I can arrange that," said a voice as two white magic balls blasted Rustyrose and Kain in the heart, piercing through their sternums. They perished. "I never did like the fat fuck and the guy with the ridiculous lost magic anyway."

Zeref gasped a little. He didn't sense the other presence beforehand. He turned around to see a white-haired young man with an arrogant expression on his face. He was wearing black royal robes (although they were torn up quite a bit). He had purple eyes. Next to him was a tall, well-built man with a blue jacket and black pants and boots. He had brown hair and blue eyes. "Who are you?" Zeref asked.

"What an interesting question," the white-haired man said. "I usually go by one name, but since I'm technically someone else, I go by three other names. But you, Zeref…" He took a few steps forward. "You can call me Tsumibito."

"And who's the other man, Tsumibito?" Zeref frowned a little.

The other man Zeref referred to took a couple of steps. "My name is Shokan. I don't go by any other name," he said in his stoic tone.

"Okay, okay; enough with the introductions," Tsumibito exasperated. "I have a request for you, Zeref."

Zeref found it odd that Tsumibito was so informal towards the Black Wizard. But he decided to ask what he wanted. "And what would that request be?"

"I need a powerful ally on my side. Do you care to join me?" Tsumibito held out his hand.

But Zeref stood there. _Is he serious? Does he really think I'll help someone? I don't help anyone._ "What are you after?"

Tsumibito had to be careful here. His words can most likely make Zeref kill him. If he didn't say the right words, he'd be a dead man. Of course, he had a trump card handy. "The destruction of all that oppose me."

"I knew it…" Zeref prepared the same attack he used on Hades. "Your name should've been a giveaway. You're a sinner!"

"That's right!" Tsumibito took off his contacts. "Tsumibito commands you: Zeref, YOU WILL OBEY ALL OF MY ORDERS!" His Geass activated and since he only needed to use it one more time, his left eye now was completely permanent; increasing the power of his command.

"W-What…?" Zeref didn't know what Tsumibito just used. But that didn't matter; his mind was being rewritten by Tsumibito's Geass. He tried fighting it, but it was useless. It was so strong. It was rewriting everything Zeref believed in. But now, everything Zeref did had to be for Tsumibito. Zeref paused. His eyes had a red highlight over his irises (no-one could see that, however). He stopped his attack. And he then got down on his left knee and bowed his head. "Order me as you desire, Master Tsumibito."

Tsumibito gave his most sinister smile yet as he walked over to Zeref; keeping in mind that Zeref's magic could kill him if he got too close. So he stood a good five metres away. He put his contacts back on. "Excellent, Zeref. You will make for an excellent pawn in my game."

"Thank you, Master Tsumibito," Zeref replied.

"Stand," Tsumibito ordered.

"Yes, Master," Zeref said as he rose. He cancelled the whirlwind surrounding him.

Shokan walked up to Tsumibito. "Incredible. So that's what this 'Geass' does."

"Correct," Tsumibito confirmed. "With my Geass, I can make anyone do as I command. They may be able to resist it for a little while, but they will ultimately be submitted."

Shokan was indeed impressed. No kind of magic could compare to Geass. Nothing of the kind can ever exist. "Now that you have made Zeref your subordinate, what do you plan to do next?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tsumibito looked over his shoulder.

"No," Shokan said boldly.

"Hah, I see. I guess I'll tell you then." He looked back at Zeref. "My plan is to take down the Magic Council and conquer the Fiore kingdom."

Shokan was a bit surprised, which is rare for him. "You can't be serious."

"Do I sound like I'm joking?" Tsumibito was stern.

Shokan smiled; something he rarely does. "You truly are a magnificent bastard, Tsumibito."

Tsumibito smiled to himself. "You're right." He tilted his head forward and grinned like a sly snake. "Well then…"

End of Chapter 5

**(A/N: I planned on summing up the conclusion of the arc in this chapter, but I've written so much that I don't think that's possible anymore. You know, I only wrote nearly 6,400 words…**

**Anyway, things got worse in Fairy Chess. Zeref is now a subordinate of Tsumibito's! Shit!**

**Look forward to the next chapter, which will definitely finish the Heaven Wolf Island arc… I hope.)**


	6. December 16 X 784 Part 2

Chapter 6: December 16, X 784 – Part 2

**(A/N: Previously on Fairy Chess: Natsu and his friends were saved by the injured Mystogan; but now he has abandoned his identity and is only Lelouch. And holy crap: Tsumibito used his new power, Geass, on Zeref and made him his subordinate!**

**The end of the Heaven Wolf Island arc draws ever closer to the end. What will happen to Fairy Tail?)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Copyright of this fan-fiction is FORBIDDEN; as can only copy this. Soul Chess inspired my title; draconichero okay'd it.**

* * *

Makarov has announced to the members of Fairy Tail who are on Heaven Wolf Island that the exam has been cancelled. Since everyone (especially Natsu) except Lelouch was annoyed about the decision, Makarov proposed to Natsu (since he was making the biggest fuss over it) that he can become an S-Class wizard if he can defeat Lelouch.

"Wait," Lelouch said as he jumped over from his hiding spot and next to Makarov. "What are you trying to do Master?"

"I want to see your new magic being tested, Lelouch," Makarov answered as he gave Lelouch a cheesy smile. "Don't you want to as well?"

_I do, however…_ "In case you haven't figured it out; I only just recently acquired my own magic power. I barely know how to use it."

"That shouldn't matter," Makarov assured. "If you beat Natsu right now, then I won't pester you again until necessary."

Natsu cracked his knuckles. "Come on, Lelouch! I want to see how strong you are!"

Lelouch sighed. _What am I going to do about this?_ "Alright; fine. Let's go, Natsu."

Natsu smirked. "Alright! Fire Dragon Iro-!" His attack was interrupted by a single ball of Lelouch's magic whacking him in the face and smashing him into a tree. Natsu was knocked out.

"Lelouch is the winner!" Mirajane exclaimed. Everyone else was very surprised to see Natsu getting beaten by one attack.

Lelouch was dumbfounded. _I still don't know how I did that. But then again, that was seriously dumb luck on my part._ He went over to Natsu to see if he was okay. Natsu had a bump on his head (courtesy of the tree) and was in a daze. But apart from that, he was fine. Lelouch held out his hand. "Are you okay, Natsu?"

Natsu woke up from the daze and noticed Lelouch holding out his hand. He smiled. "Man; you have some magic Lelouch!" He grabbed Lelouch's hand and was pulled up.

Lucy and Cana left the scene looking for Gildarts.

Lelouch spoke, "Yeah. I guess I do, don't I?"

Makarov came over. "That was quite impressive, Lelouch. What do you call that magic?" He knew the answer already, but he wanted to see if Lelouch knew as well.

Lelouch turned to face him. "It's called Black Angel magic, apparently."

"So you do know," Makarov said. "How's this for you? Once we get back to the guild, I'll give you all the books we have on your magic and you can read them in your spare time."

"Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you, Master."

Natsu ran back to Happy. When Happy told him where Lucy went, they ran off to find her. Lelouch and Makarov walked back to the other guild members. Lelouch went to Laxus.

"Hello, Laxus," Lelouch gave Laxus his hand. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Lelouch."

Laxus pretended to be apathetic. "Yeah, yeah, I know your name." He looked away as he shook Lelouch's hand. "So… You're Mystogan?" Laxus thought this was a good conversation starter.

"I was," Lelouch answered as they let go of each other's hands. "I think all of us can agree that Mystogan can no longer be with us."

"You have a point," said Laxus. "So that magic… You know; the magic you used to beat Natsu just then…"

"That's right. What about it?"

"Well, um…" Laxus was a little embarrassed to admit it. "It was pretty strong. That's good."

_Oh now I see,_ Lelouch thought as he smiled. _He's trying to compliment me._ "Thank you. I'm sure yours is strong, too." Lelouch has never seen Laxus' magic, so he wouldn't know any better.

Laxus looked at Lelouch this time. "Have you ever seen it?" He asked curiously.

"Well, I have-!"

* * *

Lelouch was interrupted by a monstrous roar. None of the members with Lelouch at the moment have heard such a terrifying sound. A huge shadow washed over the members of Fairy Tail as they looked up. What they saw will be forever engraved into their minds. It was a large black beast with blue markings all over its body. It had a long tail and massive wings. It was a dragon. And its name is Acnologia.

"A dragon…!" Lelouch was terrified. _But why is there one here?_

Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Cana and Gildarts all ran up to the other guild members and became as shocked as they were.

Gildarts recognised Acnologia. "Oh no…"

Natsu looked at Gildarts. "Gildarts! Is that the one who…"

Gildarts nodded. "Yes… That's the dragon that attacked me on one of my quests!"

Lelouch gasped. He heard what Gildarts said. "If it can attack you and stay alive, then-!"

"EVERYONE, RUUUUUN!" Gildarts screamed.

Everyone made their way through the forest, trying to get away from Acnologia as fast as possible. They were trying to reach the boat that will get them off the island.

Lelouch needed his adrenaline to kick in to be able to catch up with the others. But even then, he was wearing out too quickly and he started to slow down.

Natsu stopped and looked behind him to see Lelouch panting heavily. He picked Lelouch up off his feet and started sprinting like crazy as he caught up with the others. "Come on, Lelouch! I'm not leaving you behind!" As he said that, Acnologia landed on the island and swept its tail across the forest, destroying all the trees in the way. Natsu was hit by the end of the tail and went sailing over Makarov and the others. He was still holding Lelouch.

Lelouch, without thinking, used his wings and got out of Natsu's grip; letting Natsu fall down. He prepared a ball of his magic and released the energy stored inside it; firing a massive black beam at Acnologia. The ground was shaking from Lelouch's awesome attack. "Damn YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!" After the attack subsided, Lelouch's wings disappeared and fell down to the ground, but Laxus ran back and caught him just in time. "Laxus…?"

"Come on!" Laxus exclaimed and started running with Lelouch in his arms. As he caught up, Acnologia emerged unscathed and roared; destroying more trees and blowing Fairy Tail forward. The boat and the shore were very close.

Makarov turned to face Acnologia and declared, "GO! I'LL TAKE CARE OF HIM MYSELF!"

Everyone gasped.

"Gramps…" Natsu said.

Lelouch got out of Laxus' hold. "Master, you can't be serious! That monster is going to kill you!"

"I WOULD RATHER DIE PROTECTING MY CHILDREN THEN LETTING THEM GET KILLED!"

Lelouch was at a loss for words. _But you…_

Makarov said it again. "GO!"

Tears started to form on everyone's faces. Yes, they were frightened. Yes, they didn't want Makarov to die. But they understood what he was saying. They knew that Makarov treated everyone in Fairy Tail like a family; like his own children. But to die for them is…

Laxus spoke up. "Hurry up! Get going!" He turned around and ran closer to the shore. He was hiding his tears from everyone else, but Lelouch noticed a tear slip past Laxus' eyes as he turned around.

"Lelouch!" Makarov called out.

Lelouch turned around, also holding back more tears. But it was useless. "Yes, Master!"

"If I don't make it…" He grew to a gigantic size, matching Acnologia. "I WANT YOU TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE IN FAIRY TAIL!"

Lelouch gasped. "Master…?" He looked down, letting as many tears as he wanted to roll down his face. "Yes…! Yes, Master! I PROMISE YOU THAT I'LL TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE!" He ran back to his friends. His family.

Makarov smirked as a tear rolled down his eye. "Thank you," he boomed. Acnologia came up close, and Makarov wrestled with it.

* * *

As Lelouch caught up with everyone, they all stopped. "Hey," Lelouch said. "Guys; we have to go!"

"DO YOU REALLY THINK WE CAN JUST LET HIM DIE LIKE THIS?" Natsu yelled. "HOW CAN WE JUST LET GRAMPS DIE AFTER ALL HE'S DONE FOR US?" Natsu ran back to Makarov.

"Wait, Natsu!" Lucy called.

"Natsu; stop!" Lelouch yelled as he reached for Natsu as he ran past, but he couldn't catch him.

Grey and Erza ran over too. They were followed by everyone else except Lucy and Lelouch.

Lelouch paused. Lucy walked up to him. She spoke, "Come on; let's go help…"

Lelouch looked at her. "But…"

Lucy raised her voice. "IF WE DON"T HELP OUR FRIENDS, THEN WHAT KIND OF GUILD ARE WE?"

Lelouch flinched. He gave up. He understood what Lucy said perfectly. "Alright then..." He walked back to Makarov. "Let's go." He ran. Lucy followed.

* * *

Acnologia stomped down on Makarov's chest. But before he could finish the Master off, Natsu arrived and attacked Acnologia with a Thunder-Flame Dragon Roar. Erza followed up with Heaven's Wheel Pentagram Sword. Grey used his Creation magic to make a giant sword, which he swung down diagonally on Acnologia. Wendy used a Sky Dragon Wing Slash. Gajeel used his Iron Dragon Roar. Everyone used their strongest attack. Lelouch did the same thing as he concentrated two balls of magic in his hands and blasted Acnologia with two powerful black beams.

Acnologia took flight after all the attacks, revealing to Fairy Tail that their attacks did nothing. They attacked with everything they got, and it did nothing. Acnologia flew back and prepared to use his Dragon Roar. Fairy Tail lost all chances of winning.

Natsu banged his fist on the ground. "Damn it! Even though we have three Dragon Slayers, we didn't do anything to him!"

"Natsu…" Lucy broke down in tears. Wendy did the same thing.

"Is this really the end?" Erza felt defeated. She dropped to her knees as well.

"Enough!" Lelouch spoke. Everyone paid attention. He helped Makarov up. "Who cares if we can't beat him? Who cares that all hope seems lost?"

_Lelouch…_ Makarov was speechless.

Lelouch continued. "Right now, there is something else that is more important. Home! We have to go home! Back to our friends, our family…" Lelouch started crying. "We have to get back…" He walked over to everyone with Makarov. "…Back to Fairy Tail." He smiled through his tears.

"He's right!" said Lisanna. "We have to go home!"

Everyone slowly nodded and they all formed a circle, holding hands; crying their eyes out but smiling all the way. Lelouch was holding Natsu's and Lucy's hands respectively in his left and right hand. Acnologia charged up his attack to its fullest.

Lelouch and everyone else looked up with their heads held high. This may very well be their last stand.

"Yes…" Lelouch slowly closed his eyes. "Let's go home… …Back home to Fairy Tail…"

* * *

Acnologia fired his attack.

* * *

Heaven Wolf Island disappeared off the face of the planet.

* * *

Proud of his work, Acnologia took to the skies and hid amongst the clouds; never to be seen by anyone.

* * *

Tsumibito and Shokan saw, from the Grimoire Heart airship, the large explosion. They felt the large shockwave shake the very core of their beings. For once in his life, Tsumibito was shocked and speechless. Shokan was gaping slightly.

Shokan spoke softly. "What was…? That power?"

Tsumibito still couldn't speak. _What power… Not even my magic can match that; even if I go all out._ He found the right words to describe what he was going through at that moment. "What the fuck was that…?" He was confused as well as shocked.

Zeref appeared behind Tsumibito and Shokan and got down on one knee. "Master Tsumibito."

Tsumibito noticed he was being called. "Yes…?"

"Do I have your permission to tell you what that explosion was just now?"

"Yes…"

"Sir; that was Acnologia. A dragon."

"What?" Tsumibito couldn't believe that as well. _Are dragons really that powerful?_

Shokan turned to face Zeref. "But why would he…?"

Zeref answered before Shokan could finish. "Acnologia was summoned because of Grimoire Heart's evil deeds. And Master Tsumibito; if I may…"

Tsumibito whispered. "Yes…?"

"Your actions helped hastened Acnologia's arrival on Heaven Wolf Island. Forgive me for not telling you earlier." He bowed his head.

Tsumibito turned and walked past Zeref, still keeping his distance. "Get back inside."

"At once, Master." Zeref got up and followed Tsumibito.

"Shokan." Tsumibito stopped. "Come." He continued walking back down.

Shokan took a few steps forward before pausing and looking back over to where Heaven Wolf Island should be. _How did Acnologia do that? Now that Heaven Wolf Island is gone, that would mean-_

"SHOKAN!" Tsumibito stopped and yelled.

Shokan lost his train of thought and ran up to Tsumibito. When he turned his head to look at him, he noticed Tsumibito had a blank expression; almost like it didn't bother him. _What the hell? Isn't he as shocked as I am?_ "Tsumibito, are you alright?" They began walking again.

"I'm fine," Tsumibito said flatly. "Now that Fairy Tail's strongest wizards are dead, nothing can stand in my way."

Shokan was confused by Tsumibito's apparent lack of shock. _But weren't you…?_ _Weren't you frightened at all by that? Acnologia is much stronger than you and you don't even seem worried that it obliterated a whole island with minimal effort. How? How aren't you worried, Tsumibito?_

The thing is; Tsumibito was incredibly frustrated at Acnologia. _Shit! If Acnologia decides to appear again, who knows what it will do? That rotten bastard could very well come after me! Unless…_ "Zeref."

Zeref stopped. "Yes, Master Tsumibito?"

"Tell me something," said Tsumibito as he stopped walking as well. Shokan stopped as well. "If Acnologia comes after me, will you be able to stop it?"

"I will try my hardest for you, Master," Zeref replied. "Even if I die trying."

_That didn't answer my question,_ Tsumibito thought, annoyed._ No matter; for now I should assume Acnologia won't make an appearance for a long time. At the moment, I should focus on my plan to overthrow the Magic Council and the Fiore Kingdom. Now that Lelouch is gone, everything will be ten times easier._ "Thank you, Zeref." Tsumibito jumped down into the airship, as they have reached the edge of the large hole in the roof of the ship. Shokan followed, along with Zeref.

* * *

The day was December 16, in the year X 784. Fairy Tail's strongest wizards disappeared along with the guild's holy ground; Heaven Wolf Island, due to the dragon, Acnologia, attacking it. But a small flicker of light appeared above the island's former location. As it grew brighter, it shot up into the sky and flew over to Magnolia; leaving behind a trail of sparkles, like a shooting star across the night sky. For seven days, the light shone brightly over Fiore, lighting up the night sky every time. On the seventh night, it landed on the ground somewhere in the mountains north of the capital city, Crocus. It landed near a tiny camp site; fit for two people. A woman with black hair and no makeup on (for once in a long time) and a young girl with pink hair came out of their own tents to see the light dim down.

"What is that?" The pink-haired girl asked.

"That must be the light that flied around Fiore for a week," the other woman answered.

The light died down to reveal a young man, with black hair and the clothing of a wizard, lying on his stomach in a peaceful state. The black-haired woman walked up to him and checked for his vital signs.

"Ultear, is the person alright?"

"Yes, Meredy, he's breathing," Ultear told Meldy. "Come here and help me take him over to the campfire." She picked up the young man from his arm.

Meredy nodded and did as she was asked. She came over and grabbed the young man's left arm, and placed it over her shoulder. The two females carried the young man over to the campfire and laid him down on his side in the recovery position; his back facing the fire.

"Meredy, get him a blanket. His clothes are damp," Ultear asked.

Meredy ran into her tent to retrieve a spare blanket.

Ultear began to strip the top of the young man's clothes off. But she noticed something odd as she took off the cape. She undressed him further to see a mark that covered two-thirds of his back. It was black in colour. She recognised it instantly. _No way…_ She thought as she stopped moving. _He's a member of Fairy Tail…_

End of Chapter 6

**(A/N: And that concludes the Heaven Wolf Island arc, like I promised. I must say; that was a very short chapter.**

**So yeah, Lelouch wasn't "destroyed" by Acnologia. Instead, he became "fairy dust" and happened upon Ultear and Meredy's location. All shall be explained soon.**

**I am going to tell you all in advance: from the next chapter onwards until further notice, I'm switching the story to first-person and present tense. I wanted to explore the next arc-my own arc-in a different fashion. It's mostly because I can get a lot more detail out of this position of narrative. Not to mention, since the new arc in Fairy Tail hasn't got much happening at the moment, I wanted to change the focus and explore the world a bit more.**

**The new arc shall be called the 'Lelouch of the Absence' arc. It will make more sense once you begin reading it.**

**This is Epic Ebi, and I'm leaving you all feeling miserable. *smirk*.)**


	7. Fairy Chess Lelouch of the Absence

Chapter 7: Fairy Chess – Lelouch of the Absence

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: Hey guys; Natsu here! Thanks to Epic Ebi; instead of [SPOILER: being converted into magic, thanks to Mavis,] I'm going to talk to you through the author's notes.**

**E.E.: The thing is, Natsu; this is your mind speaking to the readers, not your actual body. In fact; you won't even remember talking to me when your job's finished.**

**Natsu: WHAAT? That's crazy!**

**E.E.: So is being licensed by Funimation. Oh snap! Nah, I kid; Funimation's a cool company and I'm glad they're doing the English dub for Fairy Tail.**

**Natsu: Damn right!**

**E.E.: Now are you saying that because it's cool being dubbed with an English voice or because Todd Haberkorn wanted to agree with me saying Funimation is cool?**

**Natsu: Who?**

**E.E.: Never mind. Well, readers; enjoy the ride as I talk with Natsu about upcoming chapters.**

**Natsu: Yeah! I'll tell him all of the awesome attacks I can use so he can put them into Fairy Chess!**

**E.E.: Oh yeah! Now I got a fire in my belly!**

**Natsu: Hey; that's my line!**

**E.E.: Enjoy; readers.)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Copyright of this fan-fiction is FORBIDDEN; as can only copy this.**

**First-person; Lelouch Lamperouge**

* * *

I slowly open my eyes. My vision is blurry, my breathing is controlled, and I can hear the voice of a woman talking. But to who? Who is she talking to? Is she talking to me? I can't make out the words properly. Medy… Melody… Wait… Meredy… I don't know that name. But now I can hear another voice; a young girl's voice. She's saying a name… Tear… Ultear… My hearing sharpens. My vision focuses better. I can see a woman with black hair down where my legs are. And next to me is a young girl with pink hair. She appears to not be focusing on me. I murmur something. Even I don't know what I said, but the pink-haired girl took a look at me and must have noticed I was starting to move.

The pink-haired girl speaks, "Ultear; look. He's waking up."

The black-haired woman (who I assume is Ultear) now looks at me. "Meredy, sit next to me; would you?"

Meredy gets up and moves over to Ultear. I sit up and notice a slight chill on my upper body. I look and notice I'm not wearing a shirt. I also feel warm on my left side. I look and notice the fire, burning brightly and letting sparks fly around. The smoke hurts my eyes, so I avert my gaze and look at the two women sitting in front of me.

"Who are you?" Meredy asks me.

I pause.

Ultear looks at Meredy. "Now now, Meredy. Don't try to rush him." She then looks at me. "Would you like to tell us your name?" She asks sincerely.

I blink once, then twice. "My name…" I have to collect my thoughts. _That's right; I'm…_ "My name is Lelouch."

"Lelouch?" Ultear repeats my name. "Hang on, then why do you…?"

"Why do I what?" I ask as my head clears. Now I can think properly.

She looks away for a second, appearing to be lost in thought. She looks back at me. "Why do you look like Tsumibito?" She asks me.

I flinch. _Tsumibito… I remember him._ _They know_ _who Tsumibito is? Does that mean they are…?_ "Are you the two of you part of the Kin of Purgatory?" I feel uneasy about the thought.

"We were," Ultear says in an honest tone. "But not anymore."

Meredy nods in agreement.

I decide that asking them why they defected isn't important. I know a possible answer, anyway. So I try asking them something else. "What do you know about Tsumibito?"

"We don't know much, actually," Meredy speaks to me this time. "All we know is that he's very strong. We don't know if he's left Grimoire Heart like we have."

_I see. So if he's a part of me, that means both of us are supposed to keep secrets from others. Maybe I should do the same thing. Just in case I can't trust them completely._ "When did Tsumibito join Grimoire Heart?" If my hunch is correct, then he would've joined Grimoire Heart as I came into this world.

"About nine months ago," Ultear tells me.

I pause in shock. I must have been still for a while, because I notice Meredy waving her hand in front of my face.

She speaks to me, "Hey, are you alright?"

I have to lie to her. I can't let her or Ultear know what I know. So I change my facial expression. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just spaced out a little." I smile. _That is not possible. Tsumibito joined Grimoire Heart more than eight months before I met Mystogan? But isn't he me? Was he lying when he said that to me? No… I would know when I lie. If I can recognise what Tsumibito said to me as the truth, then he must be me. But again; how did he get here before me?_

"Oh, that's good," Meredy smiles a little and she goes back to Ultear and sits on her knees. "So," she says. "You're a member of Fairy Tail?"

That question struck a blow to me. What she said to me is true. I am a member of Fairy Tail, but I'm nowhere near Natsu and his friends. Speaking of which, weren't we attacked by Acnologia? Oh yeah, that's right. I remember why I'm not there. It's because-

"Hey," Ultear says to me with a concerned look on her face. "Are you sure you're alright?"

It looks like I'll have to lie again. "Yeah, I just need some rest." I rub the back of my head.

"Oh!" Meredy must have remembered something. She hands me a blanket. "Here. I forgot to give this to you." She blushes a little, obviously from embarrassment.

I smile and grab the blanket. "Thank you." I wrap it around myself. It feels cosy and warm. The fabric feels like it's trapping my body heat. I snuggle in it a bit.

"You should get some sleep." Ultear stands up and stretches. "We would give you a tent to sleep in, but we only have two."

I don't mind sleeping on the ground, so I say, "No, that's fine. I'm comfortable here. I'm grateful for what you've already done for me."

She nods and looks at Meredy. "You should get some sleep too, Meredy." She walks over to the tent behind her. I assume that's hers.

Meredy gets up and grabs Ultear's arm. "Wait a second," she says. "Can I share the tent with you?"

The way Meredy said that last sentence makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I feel strangely feel nostalgic as well; almost like someone in my past said something similar to me. I wonder who?

Ultear looks at Meredy with a gentle smile. "I see what you're doing." She looks at me. "Lelouch."

I look at her in the eyes. "Yes?"

"You can sleep in Meredy's tent tonight. She seems to be okay with it. Right?" She looks back down at Meredy.

Meredy nods, which I find sweet.

"Thank you, Meredy," I tell her. I get up from where I sit and walk behind me. But I stop and turn around. "And yes."

The two females look at me, confused.

I continue speaking. "I am a member of Fairy Tail. And I hope we can put our two guilds' struggle behind us."

Ultear nods in response. "I understand. Besides; we're not part of Grimoire Heart anymore, remember?"

I smirk. "I know that. But; I don't want conflicts to rise between us." I turn to face the tent. "And also; despite being former members of Grimoire Heart, you two have been kind to me."

I assume their faces light up, because I feel this sense of happiness from their location.

"I'll say it one more time," I tell them. "Thank you. To the both of you." I walk into the tent and close it up.

* * *

As I enter the tent, the first thing I notice is the scent of roses. I don't see any roses in the tent, so I assume Meredy was wearing some kind of scented perfume when she was sleeping in here. The basic necessities are in the tent. There's a pillow, a sheet and a flashlight that runs on magic. But I notice something else in the tent.

There's a red book with a stylish pen next to it. It's next to the pillow. _Is it a diary?_ I move forward and sit down on the sheet, with my blanket still wrapped around me. I pick up the diary. It's fairly heavy. I turn to the first page and the first thing I see are little bunny rabbits drawn all over the front page. There's one eating a carrot, there's another one sleeping, and there are two playing together. Four rabbits. _I guess this is to be expected of Meredy. She is a young girl after all._ I turn the page and see at the top of the page a date and time. Above those it says, 'Dream 1'. _So it's a dream journal. She must be keeping track of what she dreams._ I smile. This is too adorable. I should probably close it before-

_Hang on, what's this?_ I look down the page and read the description.

'_My dream was quite strange last night. I dreamt of a young man with white hair, and he was going to kill me, but I was saved by another man with black hair. They looked exactly the same. Were they twins? What was their purpose in my dream?_

_I'll have to look into it later. Ultear and I have to set up camp today. We're supposed to reach the capital city in two weeks, and I hope we can make it. But not to worry! Ultear and I are together! I know we can do it!'_

I stare at the page for a long time. The two men in her dream… They must be me and Tsumibito. I don't know for sure, but it seems logical. But why did she have a dream about the two of us? What's the significance? I turn the page to find out what she dreamt of next.

'_December 20, X 784_

_7:30am'_

I stop and wonder. _The Heaven Wolf incident went for two days. It started on the 15__th__. So that means Ultear and Meldy have been camping out for what I assume is three days. But what's the date now?_ I continue reading.

'_I had the same dream as last time again. But this time I remember words from it._

_Black-hair: "Damn you Tsumibito! What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

_White-hair: "Isn't it obvious, *blank*?" (Note: I couldn't hear the name as a loud screech was heard.) "I'm going to kill Meredy."_

_Black-hair: "I WILL NOT LET YOU! OVER MY DEAD BODY!" (Note: I don't remember what kind of magic he used, but it felt powerful and I felt quite scared.)_

_That's all I can remember at the moment. Aside from the dream; I know who Tsumibito is. He's a horrible man and I used to be his subordinate in Grimoire Heart. I always had the feeling that he saw us as his pawns in some grand scheme of his._

_But I put Grimoire Heart and that man aside for good. The only person I need in my life is Ultear. She's like a mother to me._

_But that man with the black hair… I think he's a nice person too. If he's real, then I'd like to meet him one day. I wonder what he's like.'_

I stop and think about what I just read. _A screeching sound… Why couldn't she hear my name? Is it because I'm not from this world? No, that shouldn't make a difference._ I yawn. _Okay, last page._ I turn the page for one final time.

'_December 22, X 784_

_6:30am'_

I notice the change in the dates, so I turn back to see if I skipped a page. As it turns out, I haven't. I continue reading.

'_My dream was a sad one._

_The nice man with the black hair in my dreams looked like he was fatally stabbed by Tsumibito. I don't know what Tsumibito used to do that, but it was working. I broke down and cried in my dream._

_And when I woke up at around the time I started writing this, I noticed I had tears in my eyes for real. Why? Why was I crying when I woke up? And who is that man?_

_Never mind for now. Lately over the past week, Ultear and I have been seeing this strange bright light in the sky every night since the 15__th__. It's been shining for 7 whole days. How weird is that? I've been wondering what it is ever since. In fact; I wonder if it will fall out of the sky! :D_

_I'll write down more dreams when I can.'_

I do not like this. If it turns out I'm really the person in Meredy's dreams then I am in serious trouble. If what happens in these dreams come true, then that could mean I might die. But it leaves me wondering. How attached will Meredy and I be? Will Ultear be attached to me as well? Will Meredy like me; in _that_ way? To be honest, I don't see us working out together. Sure, she's a sweet girl. But I might not be her type. And besides; she reminds me of someone I know. But who? I feel like I'm forgetting someone important in my life. _Damn amnesia._ _It's because of it that I can't even remember my full name. Why can't I remember anything?_ Frustrated with myself, I put the book down where I found it and lay my head on the pillow. I yawn again and close my eyes. I roll onto my back and…

* * *

I wake up with sunlight in my eyes. There's a person in front of me, but I can't see properly to make out who it is. It's a woman's voice; I know that. I think she's calling my name.

"…lou… …Lelo… …Lelouch…!"

I open my eyes fully and see Meredy standing at my feet. I sit up. "Meredy…?" I rub my eyes so I can see. "Is it morning already?"

"Yeah, sleepyhead!" She pats her fist down on my head. "You slept in, dummy!"

"H-Hey; cut it out. I'm up, I'm up," I move around a bit more and get out of my bed. _Why is she acting like this? Wait a minute… Didn't I read her book last night? Does she know?_

"Hey…" She looks at me with quite the scary glare. "You didn't read that book next my pillow, did you?"

_So she doesn't know yet. I can use this to my advantage._ "Book?" I play 'clueless'. "What book?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" she yells in my ear (which hurt, by the way). "That book behind you. The red one." She points behind me at the book.

I continue to play 'clueless' with Meredy. I'm actually starting to enjoy messing with her. "Oh! I didn't know there was a book there," I say after looking where she was pointing.

Meredy began to stop acting scary and actually look confused. "Wait…? You didn't know that was there?"

_I did, but if I told you that I would probably get killed by you._ "Yeah. Is it yours?"

"Um… Yes, it is." She blinks.

"I see," I tell her. _I have a way to see if she recognises me. But when can I bring it up?_

Meredy speaks to me again, "Ultear's about to bring breakfast over." She gets out of the tent. "I hope you're hungry."

"M-Meredy, wait," I say as I get out too. I forgot to wear my blanket over my upper body, so I came out half naked. As she turns around, she notices my appearance and blushes as much as Lucy did when she stuck my face in her breasts by accident.

"AAAHHH, WHY ARE YOU HALF NAKED?" She turns away while hiding her face.

_Good question. Why am I? What happened to the rest of my clothes?_ I look around and see the rest of my clothing on the ground next to the campfire. Or rather; what was left of my clothing, anyway. My clothes were burnt to a crisp. I can hardly recognise them at all. "Ah crap, my clothes!" I run over to what remained and tried to see if I can bring it back to normal.

As soon as I pick it up, a strong wind goes by and blows what remains of my burnt clothes into the air. About ninety-five percent of my clothes were nothing but ash. What I hold in my hand is what remains. I don't know why, but I feel that that precise moment was the perfect opportunity for the universe to screw me over. Not only do I think that the universe did take the opportunity, I also feel like crap now. I couldn't say anything; I just look on, feeling sad.

Meredy notices that I've been staring at my (now) crappy clothing, and takes off her red cape. She hands it to me. "Here." She looks away. "I'm sorry about your clothes. You can wear this for now."

I take notice of her and drop what used to be my typical clothing and grab the cape. "…Thanks." I put it on.

Ultear shows up from the forest, holding fruit and berries. "Hey, who's hungry?" She stops and analyses the scene in front of her. "What happened here?"

After we sat down and explained what happened, Ultear understood. "Oh, now I understand. That makes a lot more sense than what I thought happened."

Meredy speaks up. "What did you-?"

Before she finishes her sentence, I cover her mouth to shut her up. "It's best if you don't ask her, Meredy." I remove my hand from her mouth and pick up an apple. I bite into it.

Ultear picks up an apple as well. "So Lelouch; what's your story with Fairy Tail?"

I decide since I've already told them I'm a member, that I should tell them my reason for joining. "It began with a favour."

Meredy and Ultear look at me with confusion. So I explain to them what has happened since I joined the guild. They seem quite absorbed in what I was telling them. However; I made sure not to tell them about Geass (if I recall; that's what Tsumibito called it).

After I reach the end of my story and finished my apple, Ultear says, "So you fought with Tsumibito?"

And Meredy asks me, "You don't have any memory of your past?"

"Yes," I say to both of them. "I don't know why, but apparently I have dreams of my past and talk in my sleep."

"Ah-Yes, you do!" Meredy exclaimed.

Of course, I was confused. "Wait, how do you…?"

"I heard you talking in your sleep before I woke you up. It sounded like you were having a nightmare."

"What was I saying?" I ask.

"You were saying… 'Lamperouge'. 'Lelouch Lamperouge'," she tells me.

"Lamperouge…?" _I see; that must be my last name then._ "Did I say anything else?"

Meredy paused slightly. "No. I woke you up before you said anything else."

_That's a lie. I can see it on your face, Meredy._ But I don't pester her about it. "I see. Thank you for telling me. It looks like I have a last name now." _Lelouch Lamperouge… What a nostalgic name. Or rather; it feels nostalgic._ I pick up another apple and chew on it. Meredy picks up a banana and peels it. Ultear picks up a pear and also eats it.

Ultear asks me another question. "Hey Lelouch. How is it that you appeared less than one month ago and Tsumibito came to Grimoire Heart nine months ago?"

_So she picked up on that as well, did she? Well, since I told her Tsumibito and I might be the same person, I suppose I can say…_ "I actually don't know myself. I've thought about it last night and I haven't reached an answer yet." I bite into my apple again.

"Oh…" Ultear bites into her pear.

We've been sitting down in silence for at least fifteen minutes until we ran out of fruit. But Ultear breaks the silence.

She asks me, "Lelouch, do you need a change of clothes?"

"Um… What do you have?" I ask her. I can't know for sure what she has that I can wear.

She smiles. "Don't worry, it's male clothing. I found it during my travelling with Meredy."

"Yes, she's right," Meredy says as she looks at me. "We found these clothes when we reached land."

That leads me to wonder where the hell these two ended up after the incident with Heaven Wolf Island.

Ultear got up and went over to her tent to retrieve the clothes she was talking about. When she came back, she handed it to me. "Here. Change into these."

I take them and get up from sitting down. I head for the bushes to get changed.

* * *

Whatever it is that I'm wearing, it makes me feel like a hot-blooded teenager. I'm now wearing straw sandals with white socks; large and baggy white pants (I think they're pants); a black sash; some black bandages around my mid riff; and what I think is the coolest coat I've seen. It was a white, long coat. It was torn at the bottom in a very distinct pattern. It made a large 'V' down to the middle of my chest from my shoulders; and another 'V' from my hips to my belly button. It was black on the inside. The sleeves fit my arms perfectly.

As I emerge from the bushes, Ultear and Meredy looked at me.

Ultear says, "Hey, it's a perfect fit." She smiles, glad that it fits me.

"It looks good on you," Meredy compliments.

"Well, the clothes are comfortable," I admit. "Thank you, Ultear."

"Don't mention it," she says and comes over to shake my hand. "I assume you need to go somewhere. So I'll say goodbye here. And if you want to go to Crocus, just go south from here."

_That's right. I remember I need to go somewhere. I need to reach Fairy Tail; like Master Makarov told me._ I shake her hand. "Thanks again for your hospitality." We let go of our shake. I walk up to Meredy and hold out my hand. But I remember something. "Oh yeah; that's right." I run back to where I got changed and grab Meredy's red cape. I run back and hand it to her. "Thanks for letting me borrow this."

Meredy pauses for a little bit until she hugs me. I hear Ultear saying what Meredy did was unexpected. Damn right it was unexpected. I don't know what to do. But before I can do anything, Meredy whispers into my ear and says, "You really are a nice person after all. I was right." She lets go of me and takes back her cape. "Thank you." She gives me her best smile, which cheers me up. "Do you think we'll run into each other again?"

I smile back. "Of course we will. If what happens in your dreams comes true, then I'll be here to save you."

"Eh?"

Before she says anything else, I vanish from her sight in the blink of an eye; using my magic. _Goodbye, Ultear and Meredy. I'm sure we'll meet again._ I use the same thing I used on Meredy and keep going until I reach a city. _Is this it? Is this Crocus?_ For now; this is we're I'll live until I can go back home. Yes… I'll go back home to Fairy Tail.

End of Chapter 7

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: Wow! What a chapter!**

**E.E.: Yes. Quite.**

**Natsu: So now what? Lelouch is in Crocus, and he has a costume change at that. Where did you get the idea for his new outfit?**

**E.E.: Alright; since you never have seen it before… It's Ichigo's Bankai outfit, except it's the same colour as his Hollow's.**

**Natsu: Who's Ichigo? Is he strong? And what's a 'hollow'?**

**E.E.: Yes, he's very strong. And don't worry; I'll tell you everything else after these author's notes.**

**Natsu: Alright!**

**E.E.: Alright fans; look forward to the next chapter of Fairy Chess. This is Epic Ebi, and I approve this message. *smirk***

**So tell me guys: what makes you get a fire in your belly?**

**Natsu: Well; obviously fire!**

**E.E.: We already know that. Now I'm asking them.)**


	8. Crocus A Twist of Fate

Chapter 8: Crocus – A Twist of Fate

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: Hey guys; Natsu here! Hey, Ebi.**

**E.E.: Yes, Natsu?**

**Natsu: I think your idea for making my friend Lelouch dress like Ichigo was an awesome idea!**

**E.E.: Ah, so you remember what I told you about in regards to **_**Bleach**_**. That's good; and thank you for the compliment.**

**So anyway fans; Lelouch has arrived in Crocus after meeting Ultear and Meredy and is now going to live there until he can reach Fairy Tail.**

**Natsu: Hey; can't he use that 'flash' thingy to get there?**

**E.E.: You mean the flash step? Not at this rate. Lelouch can't fully utilise all of his magic; some of it is unavailable to him. And besides; Lelouch would be exhausted once he gets halfway there.**

**Natsu: Why?**

**E.E.: Because it's unreasonable to make him as strong as he is without temporary restrictions.**

**Natsu: Temporary?**

**E.E.: Whoops, I said too much. Enjoy, fans.**

**Natsu: Hey! Answer my question!)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail.**

**First-person; Lelouch Lamperouge**

* * *

The capital city of Fiore, Crocus. It's a large city in Fiore with at least two hundred-thousand people living there; including wizards (by my estimate). As I look at the large entrance, I start to feel small. Nevertheless; I walk in. The streets are full of people, scanning the shopping stalls and choosing the items they wish to purchase. I notice hundreds of decorations going around the district. Red decorations, gold decorations, and even green ones. A holiday, perhaps? Aside from that; some of the other people who show themselves as wizards are trying street performances to get money.

Those kinds of wizards piss me off. Instead of using your magic to make people pay you by putting on a parade, you can always join a guild and get more than what you're earning for looking like clowns. But I ignore them for now and try to find a bookstore. If what Tsumibito said to me is true, then I can find some books based on my magic. Fairy tales, myths, legends… Hell; if I'm lucky I can find study books on how to use the damn thing.

I've been strolling while deep in my thoughts for so long that I don't notice the rough looking group approaching two women at a food stall.

Until now.

I walk up to the five individuals and call out to them, "Hey."

A tall man with what looks like a spiked club on his back turns around to face me. I swear; I have never seen such a pointed chin in my life. And his hair… Are those buns? I pretend not to care, for now.

The ugly bastard talks back at me. "Yeah, what do you want?" The rest of his buddies turn around; ignoring the women they were harassing not too long ago.

I ignore the men for now and say to the women, "You two; get out of here. I'll handle this." They nod and run off.

The short one with the head of a block started… What's the phrase? That's it; he started, 'talking smack', about me. "Hey, you skinny bastard! You let them get away!"

"That was my intention," I say to him coolly while ignoring the insult. "Why else would I interrupt your little game you were playing?"

The man with the blue cape and the small piece of hair that was spiked up talks to me. I also note the bags under his eyes. "You better apologise to us, twig, or else we'll make you."

"I have a better idea," I say as I activate my Geass. "Never set foot in Crocus again."

Amazingly, it worked. As soon as I said what I did, they immediately left. No complaints. I feel like laughing. And then I think to myself. _This place would be great to test out my Geass. With a city this big, I can test it out thoroughly. _But instead of doing that immediately, I continue looking for a bookstore. Until I remember something.

Do I have money? Without access to Mystogan's funds, I…

_Maybe I should find a library instead._ So that's what I do. Eventually, after spending what felt like hours in the Royal City, I find a library. I enter through the large doors and stand there with my jaw dropped.

* * *

There. Are. So many. Books.

As I look around, I notice all the twenty-metre high bookshelves. There must be dozens of these bookshelves. No; there must be millions of books! Strangely; instead of feeling dizzy from all the gigantic bookshelves, I feel fascinated. Do I have a passion for books, perhaps?

A young lady wearing glasses came up to me. She had shortish brown hair and brown eyes. "Hello sir; and Merry Christmas," she says. "Can I help you with anything?"

Knocking myself out of my daze, I look at the young woman. _'Merry Christmas'… What an interesting saying._ "Yes, thank you; and Merry Christmas to you too." Seeing as how I don't know what Christmas is, I go along with whatever this woman said. "I was wondering if you had any books on something called Black Angel magic." I already know bits and pieces, but I'm not going to tell her that.

"Why yes, we do!" She smiles. "Please, follow me!" She runs towards the giant bookshelves. I follow suit. If there's one place I don't want to get lost in, it's this library. So staying with her will help.

We appear in the non-fiction section of the library, and the girl grabs a ladder and brings it towards me. She starts climbing it and then goes across; presumably looking for the B section. Eventually, she grabs a book and climbs down the ladder. She walks up to me.

"This here is a book that is all about people who have seen Black Angel magic in use; and in it, they were able to find out the names of the spells the Black Angel would use in combat. Of course; not all of the spells named in this book are true, so someone who needs to research how to use Black Angel magic would have difficulty finding out what spells are real or not."

_Everyone else may have difficulty, but I'm sure I can handle it._ "Do you have any books that tell tales of the Black Angel?"

The girl nods and leads me to another bookshelf. It's the same process as last time. Climb a ladder, find the book and come back down and hand it to me. Nothing hard to follow.

The girl comes over with a black book in her hands. "This book I'm holding contains information on the Black Angel, and the kind of people who've obtained it. It's said that only those who've overcome their previous life's sins can obtain it."

_If that's the case, then whatever I was before I arrived in Magnolia means I've sinned greatly. I wonder what I did exactly._ "I see; that's very helpful. Do you happen to have any gale-force reading glasses that I can borrow?"

"You can use mine," she says to me. "How long will you need them?"

I tell her, "Not even two minutes."

She smiles and goes to get her glasses, after handing me the two books she was holding. I read the title of the black book she gave me. _The Black Angel: A look into the most mysterious wizard in history._ I look at the other book. _Black Angel magic: a theoretical analysis on the capabilities of the atoner. These are good. They'll provide the necessary information I'll need to know about my magic._

During my thought process, the girl with the glasses came back with the reading glasses. "Here you go," she tells me with a smile.

"Thank you," I say. But I feel silly without knowing something. "I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name."

"My name is Kishi," she says. "What's your name?"

I smile back. "My name is Lelouch. Thank you for your assistance, Kishi." I hold out my hand for the glasses. She hands them to me. I put them on and begin to read the book about tales of the Black Angel. _Amazing… From what I'm reading; these people who obtained the Black Angel magic… There're so few of them. _I finish half the book. _So far; only two people in history have obtained this magic, other than me._ Finished, I close the book and read through it again to commit it to memory.

After twenty seconds, I close the book and hand it to Kishi. "Can you hold this please?" It didn't hit me until now, but Kishi is looking at me with astonishment. _I guess reading it as fast as I do surprises a lot of people._ After standing in front of me for what felt like ten minutes (but I counted thirty seconds), she finally takes the book out of my hands. I then proceed to the next book; the analysis.

The book is smaller than the history book, so I got through this one quicker. After reading through it twice, I hand the book and the glasses to her. "Thank you."

"Incredible," she says with her eyes glittering like stars. "You read through all of those books in no more than two minutes; like you said…"

I blink. "Well yes; I do read faster than most people can."

She takes the books and her glasses out of my hands. "So did you commit all of the content in these books to memory?"

"Correct," I say without hesitation.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-?" She yells.

I hear the voice of an old man screaming from the other side of the building. "Kishi; quiet down! You're in a library!"

"Ah, yes; sorry sir!" She calls back. "Sorry about that, Lelouch."

"No, no; it's fine." _Alright; time to make my move. If she knows this city, then…_ "Um, Kishi?"

"Yes?" she responds.

"The thing is; I only arrived in Crocus not too long ago. And I was wondering if you can help me find my way around the place."

"Oh! Yes, I can help! Please; follow me." She runs down to another bookshelf and comes back with a large book. "Here; this book contains maps for all of Fiore." It's rectangular in shape; approximately thirty centimetres in length, and twenty centimetres in width. It's hardly as thick as the other books I read through.

"How recent is this book?" I ask. I need to make sure that the landscapes are current.

"This book came in about two weeks ago," she tells me. "So every map in this book is fairly new." She hands me the glasses again. "I'm sure you can memorise this in a snap."

I hold out my hand for the glasses and the book. "Thanks again." Once again; I put on the glasses and read through the book twice. After finishing it, I give back the two items I borrowed. "Here."

She takes them back and asks me, "How do you do that? How do you read so fast?"

_My guess is that I'm highly intelligent, or it's because I lack memories of my past. Nonetheless…_ "I don't know exactly. It just comes naturally to me."

"That's amazing," she says. "Hey; do you play board games?"

"I don't," I say back. _I don't know what a board game is; but I would look silly if I say that out loud._

"Well I think there's a game just for you." She winks at me.

"Oh? Let's hear it."

* * *

Chess.

Based on the books Kishi gave me to read; the objective is simple: checkmate the opponent's king. She and I decide to play a game to see if I can get the hang of it. Chess… The word not only rings a bell to me, but I feel like I _invented_ chess; like I _own_ the game. Which is absurd, because according to the books; chess has been around longer than I've been alive. How long have I been alive? Judging by my estimates in my biological structure; I'd say 19 years. I remember reading a book on anatomy back when I was in the Fairy Tail guild.

Oh yeah; that's right. The guild. I completely forgot about it. I'll have to ask Kishi about Fairy Tail. But for now…

Kishi and I are sitting at a table at a café across the library. It's Kishi's lunch break; so now's a good time to try out the game. I'm also eating.

After fifty-seven turns; I call the one word that declares my victory. "Checkmate." _Wow; that felt great to say._

Disappointed, Kishi says to me, "I can't believe it; you're incredible at this game! I didn't even give you any books on professional strategies!" She runs her hands through her hair vigorously.

I ignore the fact that she hid some books from me on purpose, and decide to ask about her second move. "That second move you made…"

She stops and pays attention to me. "My second move?"

"Yes. Why did you move the king first? Aren't you supposed to protect it in this game?" _And for some reason; I feel like I know the answer to that question._

"Well yes; you're right about that," she says to me. "But when I was younger and I read all these books on ancient leaders in Fiore; I notice that they fail to motivate their troops during war."

"How so?"

"Well… They didn't stand with them during their battles. And that led to terrible results; like insubordination, failure to follow orders, stuff like that. So now I always ask myself: if the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

That phrase struck a chord in my head. _Yes… That's absolutely correct. Now I see why she moved her king so early. That just gave me plenty of strategies in mind. _"You're right."

"Eh?"

"If the king doesn't lead his troops, then they won't follow. I completely agree with you, Kishi."

"Thank you, but it doesn't translate into an effective strategy for chess," she admits.

"That's not true," I tell her. "I can prove to you that it is effective."

"Go on," she insists.

"By moving the king forward after you move the pawn in front of it forward, you can begin to reinforce your attack line; that is, you move your knights and your bishops so that they're in front of your pawns." I show her on the board. "Not only will you get some of your more effective pieces in front, but you narrow down the amount of space your opponent can move as well."

"Impressive," Kishi tell me. "But wouldn't you put yourself at a disadvantage by doing that?"

"Only if you don't know how to use the limited space effectively. But to be honest; this is one of only the few lines of attack that I've come up with."

"How many strategies in total have you come up with exactly?"

I recount the amount in my head. "Seventy."

Kishi stares at me for a long time. "No way."

"I can show you if you'd like," I say to her.

"No; it's fine," she replies. "But really; if you're this good, then you should enter the chess tournament Crocus is having tomorrow."

"A tournament? Is there prize money?"

"From what I've been told; first place gets 700,000 jewels. But if first place can win the final game in under fifty turns, then it doubles to 1,400,000 jewels; and you get a free magic pouch that can fit all the money in."

I'm stunned. That's a lot of money for winning a board game tournament. But if I enter it, I could make up for not having any money at all. "Where do I sign up?"

"You can sign up on the day. Do you want me to take you there?"

"I'd love it if you did, but won't you have work?"

"No; tomorrow's a day off for me, so I can do it if you'd like."

_How convenient. But then again; it'd be nice to know someone who's watching the tournament. Unless she's… _"Are you going to enter?"

"Oh no; I don't play professionally," she says as she waves her hands in front of her. "And then again; professional chess seems more your style."

"Okay then. I'm grateful for the fact that you're willing to take me to the game on your day off." _I could go do it myself, but since she offered to take me there… Well, there's nothing wrong with it. Right?_

"Oh; don't worry about it," Kishi says optimistically. "I have nothing better to do tomorrow anyway; so it'd be nice to see the tournament."

_Alright. Now that the subject is finished, I should move on to the most important thing._ "I have something important to ask you."

"What's the topic?" Kishi asks me before sipping her coffee.

I put it bluntly. "Fairy Tail."

Kishi stops drinking and pauses. She puts the cup down. She pauses for a little (I assume she's collecting thoughts). She speaks, "I feel so sorry for them."

_I can imagine why; but right now I need more information than that on how they're doing. I also can't tell her that I'm one of them. Not yet, anyway._ "You do?"

She nods while looking at the chess board. "A little over a week ago; a dragon named Acnologia annihilated Heaven Wolf Island. Apparently; the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail were on that island at the time. The Magic Council has issued dozens of search parties to find them, but so far they haven't found anything."

_Search parties? Do the Magic Council actually care for Fairy Tail now? But I thought… I thought they were trying to disband us. Maybe I was wrong about them._ "Acnologia… What do you know about it?" _Apart from the fact that it's a complete monster, anyway._

"Acnologia is said to be a terrible dragon that hates humanity to the core. But why it showed up now of all times… Not even the Magic Council know. Or at least; they're not telling us otherwise."

I continue with the questions. "How is Fairy Tail doing now?" _Here it comes…_

"Horribly," Kishi says bluntly. "They're trying desperately to find their friends; but they haven't found anything at all. I'm afraid Acnologia wiped them out completely."

The thing is; I can't tell her anything about how I got here. Because… Because I…

* * *

_I opened my eyes slowly. All I saw was light and a young blonde girl with blue eyes standing in front of me._

"_Who are you?" I asked._

"_I'm Mavis Vermillion; the first guild Master of Fairy Tail."_

_I gasped._

"_It's nice to meet you, Lelouch." Mavis smiled at me. She looked like an angel. She was beautiful. "Listen; I need to give you a job to do."_

"_A job…?"_

"_Yes. I need you to go back to Fiore. You need to stop someone before it's too late."_

"_Tsumibito…" I didn't need her to tell me to know._

"_Correct."_

"_But how do I…? And what about Natsu? And the Master? The others?"_

"_I will take care of them. Don't worry," Mavis told me. "And I will handle transporting you off the island. But the spell would last about a week, so you'll be asleep for a while." She chuckled._

"_I… See…" I blinked slowly. I felt drowsy. "But why are you helping me?"_

"_Well…" Mavis put her index finger on her chin. "Because I think you're the only one capable of stopping him!" She chuckled again. She's pretty young for a guild Master. I wondered how she became one so easily._

_I chuckled in response. "Well alright, Master Mavis. I'll do this job for you. I promise."_

"_Good!" She smiled brightly. "I'll see you later!" She waved goodbye, and then I…_

* * *

…End up here in a café. That would've been eight days ago when I talked to Mavis. But for now; since I can't find Tsumibito, I'll have to work out how to live first. I say something to Kishi. "I see; it must be really hard for Fairy Tail to cope with the possible death of their friends."

Kishi nods in response. "It must be really hard, indeed." We sit in silence for a while. Until… "Why did you ask me about Fairy Tail? I would've thought you knew all of this."

_And now for the lie…_ "Well, the thing is; I'm not from Fiore. I'm from the Western side. I heard that Fairy Tail was the strongest guild in Fiore, so I-."

"Stop," Kishi demands.

I do so.

She continues. "If you're afraid of telling me something you're hiding from public then we can go back into the library and talk there."

_Wait; she can tell I'm lying? But how…?_

"Well; my lunch break should be over now, so if you want to keep talking, then come with me to the library." She gets up, takes out money and places it on the table; and heads for the library across the road.

"H-Hey, Kishi!" I call out. _She forgot the chess board._ I clean it up and carry it with me. "Kishi; wait!"

* * *

Back in the library; I meet up with Kishi, who is browsing books at the moment. "Kishi…"

"Who are you exactly?" Kishi says with a tiny hint of venom behind her voice. She isn't looking at me.

"Hold on a minute; how could you tell I was lying?" I ask her after putting away the chess board where I remember she took it from.

"I'm not telling you," she snaps back. "Not until you tell me who you are first."

_This isn't good. I'm stuck in a situation where my identity will be exposed. Unless I… No… I can't use Geass on her. I befriended her so well that I can't use it now. Besides; she's wearing glasses, and I don't know if that will work on her. So what do I do?_

"I'm waiting for an answer, Lelouch," Kishi says to me.

_Hold on… There's a spell that I know that can help me in this. The book called it 'Angel Step'._ Since I've used it before, I know how to use it completely now. I 'step' behind Kishi, grab her mouth and her left arm, and 'step' again away from the entrance and to the back of the library; taking her with me as a result.

Kishi tries screaming; but with my hand over her mouth, it's muted. "Kishi; calm down, I'm not going to hurt you." I almost whisper these words. After she calms down, I release my grip on her. Before I let her get away, I draw a small magic circle and freeze her movement to almost a complete halt._ And this spell is called 'Restrict'. With this; I can slow down my target's movement significantly. I will admit this is cruel, but it's the only way to make sure she doesn't go out there and declare me as a mysterious individual. The last thing I want is to get in trouble with the law._ "Listen, Kishi." I walk around her to face the front. "Before I let go of my restraint on you; you will promise me two things. One: you will tell me how you could detect my lie. And two: whatever I say to you, do not point out if I'm lying; because I will not tell you the truth. If you fail to comply, then I will force you to."

I pause to let that sink in. "If you understand, just blink three times in a row." The only thing I can't restrict on a person is their ability to breathe or to blink.

She blinks three times quickly. I let her go, and she falls to her knees. I get down on one knee to keep eye contact; just in case I have no choice but to use Geass. "Now tell me; how did you know I lied earlier?"

She looks defeated and is avoiding eye contact. I can understand that. I did scare and submit her, after all. "Detection magic…"

"Hmm?"

"My magic… It can detect certain emotions on a person if they're trying to hide it. Because of that; I could tell when you were lying. Beside that; if I didn't have this magic, I never would've been able to tell from your facial expression."

_I see; that makes sense. Detection magic, huh?_

"Lelouch…" Kishi says quietly.

"What?"

"Can you at least tell me your full name? Unless what you told me your name was is a lie too."

_I can at least tell her that, I guess._ "My full name is Lelouch Lamperouge. I never told you my full name because… I never heard yours." I said that in a way that would make her feel comfortable talking to me again.

But I didn't expect her to blush and look flustered; which is what she did. "It's Barasono. My name is Kishi Barasono."

"Barasono…" _I must admit…_ "It's a lovely name."

"Don't go talking sweet after what you did to me," she says infuriated. "You just interrogated me."

"Look; I'm sorry I had to do that, but you gave me no other choice. I can't have you knowing everything about me."

"And why not?" She looks at me with angered eyes.

"Because even I don't know everything about myself," I tell her. "How can I tell someone everything about me if even I myself am missing critical information? My past, the friends I made… Hell; I don't even know my own damn birthday!" I start to raise my voice a little. "Try to understand how difficult it is to not even know who your own family is. As far as I can tell; they might not even be alive anymore. The only people I can call 'family' are-!" I stop myself before I say 'those who are members of Fairy Tail'.

"Who; Lelouch?" Kishi insists. "Who are the only people you can call 'family'?"

I pause. I want to tell her; I really do. I want to tell her everything that has happened to me since I arrived in Magnolia. I want to tell her that Tsumibito is my other half. I want to tell her that I'm a member of Fairy Tail. I want to tell her that Mavis entrusted me with a job. I want to tell her _everything_.

But… I can't. Like I told her; how can I tell someone everything about me if I can't even tell myself who I am? "Forget it," I say as I look away from Kishi. "It doesn't matter."

"Well it obviously does," Kishi says. "Why else would you be hesitant to tell me who your 'family' is?"

She has a point; I admit that._ I give up._ "Fine; I'll tell you. My 'family' is-."

I've been interrupted by a magic screen appearing close to Kishi and me. We both look up. There's an individual with a dark-coloured cape with a large collar. He's wearing a helmet that's similar in colour. It looks like a tulip. I don't know why; but I feel a connection with the mask. Do I know the person?

* * *

The person on the screen speaks. "I am… Zero!"

The screen zooms out to show a large group of people behind this man (judging by his voice). They all concealed their faces. They were wearing visors, black uniforms… They looked like an army. And they appear to be standing on something blue. But they could be in the air.

* * *

Zero speaks again, "People! Fear us; or rally behind us as you see fit! We; are the Black Knights!"

* * *

_That man… Could it be Tsumibito? Damn it; you bastard!_ Making sure Kishi doesn't notice I'm gone; I 'step' outside the library and repeat it as I jump away from Crocus. _Tsumibito; I will find you! Don't think I can't recognise your voice. It's my voice too!_ My destination is clear. The beach shore. It will take a few minutes, but I don't care. I'm going to find him.

From Crocus, I head west through the forests. _The probability of Zero being at the west shore is 78%. When I saw_ _him on that screen; I notice his cape was blowing to his left. Because of that; I deduced that because the wind blowing on me is going north, that Zero is on the west side of Fiore. Zero… Are you Tsumibito? And if you're not him; then why do you sound exactly like me? Who are you?_

For some reason; the screen displaying Zero is following me. _Great; it's like I have my own personal watchdog. The only difference is that it isn't watching me._

* * *

Zero is still speaking. "We of the Black Knights stand with all those who have no magic power to utilise; regardless of who they are. The Baram Alliance cowardly had Grimoire Heart attack innocent wizards on Heaven Wolf Island. And as a result; Acnologia appeared once again and mercilessly annihilated the island! Everything Grimoire Heart did was unnecessary. Therefore; they have been punished by an external force."

* * *

_An external force? So he must not be Tsumibito. But who finished off Grimoire Heart?_ I 'step' through more trees.

* * *

"Even the Magic Council refused to do anything to help those on the island. They ran away with their tails between their legs and escaped with their lives. What kind of authority does that? Shouldn't they have done something to prevent what has happened?"

* * *

_The thing is Zero, no-one except me and those on Heaven Wolf Island have witnessed Acnologia's power. So what would you know?_

* * *

"I will not stand with the Baram Alliance. But neither will I tolerate useless leaders who do nothing to try and stop the corruption that is in plain sight. The only ones who should rule; are those who are prepared to be ruled!"

* * *

_Hold on… What Zero said is similar to what I said to Hades at Heaven Wolf Island. The only difference is that he's talking about authority; I talked about life, and reason._ I take more 'steps' and get closer to the shore. Just a couple of kilometres left and I will reach them.

* * *

"Those of you with power; fear us!" I notice Zero flicks his left arm out from his cape. "Those of you without it; rally behind us!" He flicks out his right hand. "We; the Black Knights, will be the ones who stand with justice in Fiore!" The screen turns off.

* * *

I arrive in time at the shore. I look up, and I ogle at the sight.

Zero and his Black Knights are not in sight. Instead; I see a giant blue airship (that appears to run on magic). There's a strange symbol on the front of it. It looks like a strange bird. But there's a difference. There's a line going through the middle of it, and some of the edges are extended further than their original points. I feel like I know what that symbol is; but I can't put my finger on it at all.

The Black Knight's airship started to turn around. There's an announcement over the speakers on the ship. _"Ikaruga now rotating to head toward its next destination. All hands; return inside. I repeat; all hands; return inside."_

_Ikaruga? Damn it; they're going to get away!_ My magic energy is very low. Any more magic and I might not be able to get down from the ship.

Like I care.

_Now to try out my wings._ With my magic; I summon my wings and fly up to the Ikaruga. Fast.

I land on top of the deck; making sure not to land hard. It's not because I don't want to break the ship, but I could break my feet if I do that. With my wings still spread, I call out, "Zero! Stop where you are!"

Thankfully; Zero was still on top of the deck; alone, for that matter. He turns around. And I knew, right here, that the mask displays intimidation. It displays cold calculation, and cunning. It displays… Resolve. "Who are you?" He asks me.

"I think you should be answering my questions," I say coldly as I walk over to him. "Who are you?"

"I assume you saw my introduction. So the answer should be clear to you."

"Do you know who I am?" I ask while still walking over to him.

"How do you want me to answer that?" Zero proposes. "Do you want me to tell you what you already know; or do you want me to tell you the truth; the truth of everything?"

"What are you talking about?" I stop walking.

"Do you plan to stop Tsumibito?" Zero asks me.

I remain speechless.

"Here's the thing, Lelouch Lamperouge. I am you, and you are me; and so is Tsumibito."

"What…?" I manage to say.

"It's the truth."

I know what to ask him next. After gaining composure; I ask Zero, "When did you arrive in Fiore?"

"Nine months ago; like Tsumibito did."

"Then why did I appear only one month ago?" I ask.

I never will get my answer. Zero's subordinates came rushing from behind him and prepared all types of magic. They aim at me.

One of the Black Knights spoke, "Zero; stay behind us! We'll take care of the intruder!"

"Stand down," Zero orders. "He won't prove to be a threat if he chooses to cooperate with us."

_Bastard. You planned this, didn't you? You knew I would come here. How could I have missed that? Regardless; the fact of the matter is that I'm stuck. I can choose to side with you, or I can be shot down by your troops. Hang on; I have a way out of this._ "Zero; let me ask you something."

"Hmm?" Zero appears to listen.

"If the _king_ doesn't lead; how can he expect _his_ subordinates to follow?"

"Are you suggesting that you are the other king on the board?" Zero asks with curiosity.

"Not at all. Both of us know who the white king is; and it's not either of us. What I'm suggesting…" I 'step' behind Zero with my left side facing him; startling the Black Knights. "Is that two minds who think alike cannot rule the same team. You don't need my help, Zero."

"If you are not the black king or the white king…" Zero turns his head to face me. "Then what are you, Lelouch Lamperouge?"

"Zero; you know this person?" says one of Zero's subordinates.

_What am I, he asks? I only have one answer to that. If Tsumibito and Zero used to be me, that makes them my creations. That makes me…_ I say to Zero one word.

"God."

* * *

I 'step' off the Ikaruga and back on the shore. Using all the magic I have left; I keep my wings and fly high into the air. My destination: Crocus. Again. The distance will be hard to cover; seeing as how I'm almost out of magic. I start to pant.

_Zero… Is your final plan to take down Tsumibito as well as the Baram Alliance, or even the Magic Council? For now; I'll trust you with taking on Tsumibito. I'll observe your conflict from a distance. From what I can tell so far; Tsumibito will have control of the Baram Alliance, and Zero has the Black Knights. Who will support the Magic Council? It's possible that Tsumibito will use his Geass (which he got from me, no less) to make the Magic Council follow his orders. But there's a possibility that the Magic Council and the Baram Alliance will be at odds with each other._

_I wonder; does Zero have Geass as well? He probably doesn't. Seeing as how Tsumibito had to take most of my Geass from me by force to get it; I can likely confirm Zero doesn't have it with that alone._

_But back to the Magic Council; it looks like I can help them out with the new threats at hand. Maybe I'll offer my assistance to them if they promise to help Fairy Tail in any way possible. Yes… That will work. And if they decide not to agree; then I will Geass them to agree. They are people I am willing to use my Geass on for the sake of Fairy Tail._

_Alright then… If Zero's pieces consist of the Black Knights; and Tsumibito's pieces consist of the Baram Alliance; then I will create my own team. A silver team against the white and black teams._

_I will be the king for the Magic Council. And I will stop Tsumibito, and choose to cooperate with Zero if necessary. In the end, I. Will. Win._

End of Chapter 8

**(A/N:**

**E.E.: Remember when I said Zero wouldn't make an appearance? I lied. I BLEW THAT STATEMENT OUT OF THE GOD-DAMN WINDOW!**

**Natsu: I'm confused here.**

**E.E.: What's wrong, Natsu?**

**Natsu: I don't get it. How are there three Lelouch's?**

**E.E.: It's easy. Basically; Lelouch has three identities, or masks. One mask is the one he wears in front of his friends; another one is Zero, which he uses to motivate the people; and the last one is that of a demon, or a monster.**

**Natsu: … What?**

**E.E.: Never mind. So now we have three teams. We have:**

**Tsumibito's white team – The Baram Alliance**

**Zero's black team – The Black Knights; go figure…**

**And finally; Lelouch's silver team (?) – The Magic Council**

**This; my friends, is Fairy Chess.)**


	9. Christmas Eve X 784 The Chess Tournament

Chapter 9: Christmas Eve, X 784 – The Chess Tournament

**(A/N:**

**E.E.: Alright guys; it's time to get down with the chess tournament. That's right; it's Christmas Eve!**

**Natsu: Yeah! Merry Christmas!**

**E.E.: So previously; Lelouch made it to Crocus, and ran into Kishi Barasono at the library. Zero made an appearance, and Lelouch practically declared war against his other selves!**

**Natsu: I'm still confused.**

**E.E.: Don't worry, Natsu. I'll explain it as many times as you need.**

**For those who are wondering where I got the idea for the 'silver' team; refer to a show called **_**The Big Bang Theory**_**.**

**Enjoy some good old-fashioned chess.)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Copyright of this fan-fiction is FORBIDDEN. Draconichero okay'd my title.**

* * *

It's Christmas Eve, 6:30am.

After what seemed like hours of arguing and persuading, I got Kishi to let me stay at her place for the night. On the couch. Understandable in that having a guy over for the night made her uncomfortable. Or maybe she thinks I'm good-looking.

I don't know. I don't even know who I am; let alone how others feel about me.

I wake up at 6:30 in the morning wondering about what happened yesterday. I remember all of the major events clearly, down to the last sentence and little euphemism.

I basically just declared war with no army.

Unless I convince the Magic Council to cooperate with me, I'm completely at a disadvantage. The thing is, right now, I don't know where to start. I've been coming up with different strategies to approach the Magic Council all of last night. I can only narrow down the ideas to four-hundred.

_Damn it all._

I decide to get off of the couch and change into my new attire I got from Ultear and Meldy. When I went to bed, I had to wear some old pyjama's Kishi's dad left behind. They were the only ones that fit me.

Kishi said to me yesterday the bathroom has a spare toothbrush and a towel for me to use. I fold the PJ's up and take them with me to put in the basket (which is also where the bathroom is). Before I head there, I look around the house, which smells like 'eggnog' (whatever that is; but Kishi told me not to worry about it).

It's a cosy little two-story house. There were pictures over the fireplace (which was burnt out); a Christmas stocking with Kishi's name on it, a Christmas tree with hundreds of decorations on it, and the living room is to my right. It's got the (apparently) usual things you'll find in any house in Crocus. There's a couch, a lamp, a side table, and the new piece of technology that runs on magic; something called a 'television'. It doesn't display 'channels' yet, but most new things don't always come with everything ready.

I go behind the couch and head upstairs. There are three doors. One is Kishi's room, the other is her parent's room (she said she couldn't be bothered cleaning it out; which I don't buy for a second), and the last one is the bathroom. Kishi's is on the left side, parent's room in front of me, and the bathroom is down the hall to my right.

Three doors. One destination.

When I walk over to the bathroom door, I open it and see something that may forever be burnt into my memory.

Kishi was looking in the mirror with only a wet towel on, clinging to her curves.

* * *

_Oh shit._

All I can do is stare at the (I'll admit) magnificent sight in front of me. She is just stunning without the glasses. She's even more incredible at the bust-good god- the bust! B-cup, C-cup; I can't tell. Her hips are just amazing, and her butt is cute.

She also smells nice.

Her brown hair is flat at the moment, covering her eyes. I bet she can't see me without those glasses either (and thank goodness she didn't hear me come in). So to avoid getting killed and to keep my face, I put the pyjamas in the basket in silence and walk slowly away from the door while closing it.

I hear her say, "Eh?" as soon as I quickly 'step' down from the second floor and bash down the door by complete accident.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! That was TOO close! What am I going to do about… ...that?_ I'm referring to the door, not my… Well… That's a problem too.

"Is someone there?" Kishi calls out.

_This is not good. I have to think of something now before I get into deep trouble! Wait, there's always…_ "Uh, it's me Kishi!" I call back.

"What happened? What was that bang?"

"A burglar snuck in and I scared him off; he broke down the door by accident." I start to walk back into the house. I see Kishi is still wearing that towel. I must be blushing, because I feel hot. "Sorry about the door."

She sighs. "It's fine. I'll get a friend of mine to fix it."

"O-okay…" I stutter.

Kishi looks at me strangely and realises what I'm looking at. She screams, covers her chest, and runs back up the stairs (giving me a flash of what's underneath the towel; making my nose bleed), closing the bathroom door behind her. "Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!" She yells.

I can't tell whether or not she's yelling at me or herself. Not important; I have to stop the bleeding. I run into the kitchen and clean myself up. Going back into the room I slept in, I sit back down on the couch and wait for her to come down. When she does, I get up without looking at her and go for the bathroom myself.

After getting out of my clothes, I step into the shower and turn it on. I sigh in pleasure and relief. "This is much better…" I run my hands through my hair under the hot water. _I definitely needed this. My muscles are killing me._ I stretch my body to loosen up. I begin to wash myself. _I wonder what Kishi would think if she saw me in this state._ I chuckle. _Her reaction probably wouldn't be as controlled as mine when I saw her…_ Without warning, I feel aroused. _Shit. I should've seen this coming. Better keep myself calm for now._ I empty some shampoo in my hands and start washing my hair thoroughly. _Then again… Why is it that I feel aroused, but I get a nagging feeling in my head to not get close to Kishi? Perhaps it has to do with something in my past. Did I have a bad streak with women?_

As I think this, I reach for the conditioner._ It's possible. But my next question is; why do I have a bad streak in the first place? Was I a jerk; a playboy? Who was I before I came to Magnolia? I couldn't have just been a sinner all of my life, right?_ I wash the conditioner out of my hair. After that, I turn off the shower and step out of it.

I walk over to the mirror and notice it's foggy from the steam that came from the shower. I shake my hair and grab a spare towel, drying my head. I walk over to the mirror with the towel in hand and wipe it to see my reflection.

All I see is me. I don't see Zero or Tsumibito. I only see Lelouch Lamperouge; creator of my other halves. _But who is Lelouch Lamperouge really? What trait makes him distinct_ _from his other faces; his masks? What makes his mask a 'mask' in the first place? Is it a mixture of Zero and Tsumibito? Is it more of one mask than the other? Is it its own mask? But what makes it its own?_

I wrap the towel around my waist. _Maybe Lelouch Lamperouge can make his mask whatever he wants. Maybe this is why I don't remember anything, because I now have an opportunity to change my identity. Yes… Lelouch Lamperouge can now be his own person._

I hear a knock on the door. It's got to be Kishi.

"Hey," she says. "Are you okay, Lelouch?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply. "I'll be out in a minute."

"O-okay," she stutters. I hear footsteps going away from the door.

I sigh and look back at the mirror. _Well; I can't keep thinking about who I am all day. It's Christmas, and I have a tournament to win._ I continue drying my body. And then suddenly…

Kishi opens the door only wearing the towel she had after her shower.

I look at her and become so frozen in movement that Grey would have a run for his money (and magic). I can't say anything; the words won't come out. What I want to say is stuck in my head. _Kishi; what are you doing? Why are you-!_

She starts walking up to me slowly, and I see her avoiding eye contact and blushing like crazy. "So um… You saw me in this… Right?"

I can't even nod.

"And since you saw me like that, it must mean we should… We should…" She blushes harder.

_Now I see what she's doing; she doesn't know what to do about this either. She's confused, and thinks we have to do things she's not comfortable with doing. Poor girl..._ I place my hands on her shoulder. She glances up at me.

"Stop," I say to her gently.

"Eh?"

"Just because I saw you only wearing a towel, it doesn't mean we have to do… You know; 'that'."

She blushes even more, which I find surprising. How much can a person keep blushing?

I continue. "Where did you get the idea of doing this anyway? This isn't fiction."

She looks away with utter embarrassment. She mutters something. I can't make it out at all.

_Wait a second… What did she say? Was it…? Oh. Now I get it. I guess everyone needs to satisfy themselves once in a while._ "It's okay." I hug her lightly as she starts sobbing. The embarrassment must be getting to her. "You don't have to be embarrassed about it. Everyone is human. We're not part of a story where everyone has lots of… You know." I stroke her hair lightly. "I won't talk about this to anyone if that's what you're worried about. I will keep this a secret for as long as I live." I rest my head on top of hers to further calm her tears. "It's alright Kishi… Everything is alright…"

She wraps her arms around me and stops crying. She moves her head so she's looking at me. "Lelouch, I…" She presses her breasts onto my chest harder. She reaches up slowly, slowly, slowly…

And I stop her by placing my hand on her lips. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to," I tell her.

Kishi looks away for a second and says, "You're right. Sorry."

_I should make sure she knows that…_ "Don't get the wrong idea. It isn't like I don't want to do it. It's just-."

"I understand," says Kishi as she heads for the door. "Come on; we have a tournament for you to sign up to." She goes to her room.

I finish drying myself off and change into my normal attire. I walk down stairs after getting dressed and see Kishi dressed in a knee-length skirt and a frilly shirt. She's wearing platforms on her feet. And she also avoids looking at me.

I decide to tease her a little. "Well that was fun."

She turns around and blushes. "Y-Yeah…"

"Shall we get going?" I ask her.

"Yeah; let's go. The tournament starts at lunch time. We should sign you up early." She walks out the door (which I note is now inside).

"Sounds good to me," I say while following close by her.

* * *

We arrive at what looks like a beachside hut (which is odd, seeing as how we're in the city). The only people here at the moment are Kishi, the person standing behind the bar bench, and myself. There're pieces of paper on the bench.

"Good morning," says the man behind the bench.

"Good morning to you too," Kishi replies with a smile.

"Have you come to sign up for the chess tournament?" he asks.

"Oh no, not me," Kishi admits while waving her hands in front of her. "My friend here is the one who wants to sign up." She's referring to me.

"Hello sir," the man says to me. "What's your name?"

_I can't tell him my real name. If there's one thing I don't want Tsumibito or Zero to know, it's my location._ "Alan Spacer," I lie, confusing Kishi. "It's nice to meet you." I walk over to the bench. "Where do I sign up?"

"Just fill in this form here and you'll be good to go." He hands me a form.

Before I look at it, I ask, "How many other people have signed up for this?"

"I'd say at least ten other people. Although I think the number will increase before lunchtime. Then again; not many people have been willing to take on the toughest chess players in the city."

"I see. That's pretty strange, seeing as how people can win at least 700,000 jewels," I say as I look at the form in front of me. I fill it out with the pen next to the pile of paper to my left.

**Name: **_Alan Spacer_

**Age: **_19_

**Gender: **_Male_

**Guild? (optional):** _None_

_They don't need to know which guild I'm from. It would cause too much trouble for me._ "Okay, I finished it." I hand my paper to the man.

"Alright then," the man says as he takes my form from me. "The tournament starts at 12:00pm sharp. Don't be late, Mr Spacer."

I smile. "Don't worry, I never lose track of time." I go back to Kishi. "You ready to go?" I ask her.

She glares at me. She whispers, "Why did you change your name? Are you still lying to me about who you are?" We start walking away from the hut.

"I'm not," I answer. "But people can't know about who I am."

"What kind of people?" She's still whispering.

"Dangerous people. The kind of people who use drastic measures to get what they want." I'm referring to Tsumibito more so than Zero. But I can't tell her that. "I can't let them know I'm here in the capital."

Kishi stays quiet for a moment. "Fine. I believe you. But only because I can't detect you lying."

"I understand," I say back. "Anyway; it's Christmas, right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Why don't we take a stroll around the city for a bit before the tournament?"

Kishi thinks about what I propose. "That sounds good to me." She smiles at me for the first time all morning. "What do you want to look at?"

* * *

After getting breakfast and walking around the city for the next four and a half hours, we arrive back at the hut. There are fifteen other people here. Most of them are males.

Only one of these people catches my eye as a potentially good player. His back is towards me. I ask Kishi if she knows who he is.

She answers, "That's the current champion in the Fiore Kingdom. He's won seven tournaments in a row. No-one knows how he does it. Some people say he bribes his opponents to lose on purpose. I'd watch out for him, Lelouch."

"Don't worry; I don't compromise for strangers," I assure her.

The man from behind the bench we met earlier addressed all of us. "Welcome, fellow chess players! Before we start this grand tournament, I should warn you that only those who signed up are allowed to come to the new location. So if you haven't signed up, I'm afraid you can't come along."

Kishi whispers in my ear. "I'll be waiting for you back at my place."

"Got it," I whisper back. "See you soon."

Kishi walks off.

_Maybe I should buy her a present when I win. That's what people do for Christmas, right?_ My thoughts are interrupted by the man who Kishi told me is the champion.

"Hi there," he says to me with his chin in the air. He reminds me of Tsumibito. "I take it you're a newbie around here. What's your name?" This man has short and spiky black hair. His complexion is fair, and he has brown eyes.

I say to him coolly, "Alan Spacer. I take it you're the champion."

"That's right," he answers. "Now then; let's cut to the chase. I want to make you a deal."

_I know what he's trying to do._ "Not interested."

"Come on," he persists. "You haven't even heard my proposition yet."

"I don't need to know what it is. I hear you bribe people so that they let you win."

"And do you know why they agree to my propositions?" he asks with a smug grin.

I pause. I actually don't know why.

He answers his own question. "Because I have connections with a dark guild. Anyone who doesn't agree to my terms will have those close to them killed."

Inside my head, I shudder. But on the outside, I show him I don't care. "Are you meaning to tell me you'll hurt that girl who was talking to me just then? Fine. Do it. I don't even know her; she just came up to me and tried to persuade me to pay her for the night." _Sorry Kishi, but I can't let him know that I care for you. As soon as I win this, I'll come immediately back to your place._

"Oh? So you don't know her then?" The 'champ' looked disappointed. "Well that's a shame. But since you know about my deal, I can't have you telling everyone that the rumours are true. So here's what's going to happen. If you win this tournament, then I will get my entire dark guild friends to follow you until no-one can see or hear you; and then they will kill you. Is that understood?"

"Try and stop me," I dare him.

"Suit yourself." The 'champ' moves onto someone else, probably to persuade them to lose their matches with him on purpose.

_What a scumbag._

The man from this morning spoke up again. "Okay; it looks like everyone here is going to play. Now I shall transport you all to a new location."

_Wait, what? We're going there?_ All of a sudden, a bright light engulfs all of us participating in the tournament. I have to cover my eyes because it's so blinding. _Is this teleportation magic?_

After the light subsides, I open my eyes and stare in awe.

* * *

We arrive at what looks like a giant coliseum, with a large crowd to boot. As I look around my surroundings, I see eight chess boards lined up like a hallway in the centre of everything.

"Now…" The man who sent us here spoke again, but his voice is amplified so the whole crowd can hear him. "Are you all ready to see some action?" The crowd responds with a large cry of excitement and anticipation.

All participants made their way to a chessboard. After sitting down on the chairs, we all got assigned a number. I got number '8'.

"Allow me to explain the rules, contestants," the teleportation magic user says to us. "Here they are!"

A giant glow comes from behind him, revealing a kind of tournament ladder.

The man continues, "What you see here is the tournament ladder. The champion is number sixteen, and everyone else already knows their numbers. What basically happens is you have to defeat your opponent to move onto your next opponent. But you can only continue your next match when everyone else has finished their first round. After that; we repeat until two people left go head-to-head to earn the title of champion. On a side note; if the champion loses before he reaches the final round, the person who defeated him will be the champion until they lose. Then the person who defeats the new champion will become the newer champion, and so on and so forth…"

_I guess that means draws are not possible. Oh well; it makes no difference to me._

"Now are you ready?" The man talks as if he's talking to the audience. They reply with a loud cheer. "Then let's start this tournament! Players; don't forget about the prize money!"

_The man has the energy of a little kid. But I guess that's to be expected when you host a tournament._

* * *

My first match starts with number '9'. I beat her in less than thirty turns. I don't bother look at who else I have to play until later. When Round Two starts, I beat my next opponent in less than thirty-seven turns. Round Three ended in less than twenty turns. _I got to say; these people are pretty pathetic contestants. What makes them think they can beat the 'champion' if they can't even beat someone who just learnt the game yesterday? Admittedly; I absorb information much faster than everyone else, but come on…_

I keep winning more matches until I face the champion. The crowd is going nuts.

The host speaks up. "WOW! What a tournament!"

_I seriously doubt that._ I keep these words to myself.

"So here's the low-down! Our new participant Alan Spacer has made it all the way to the final round and is now going up against our champion, Wayne Taylor!" The crowd goes crazy again until the host speaks again. "So let me remind you this, Alan! If you can beat the champion in less than fifty turns, the prize money doubles from 700,000 jewels to 1,400,000! Good luck!"

I don't even look at the host. My eyes focus on Wayne Taylor. He's looking back at me as well. But he's smiling. _Why is he smiling?_

A large screen appears above our heads to display the chess board to the audience.

"Now then, audience! Please remain quiet as we let these players concentrate; just like with the other rounds." The audience dies down. The host dims down his voice too. "Good luck you two. And may the best player win."

The entire coliseum is dead silent. Before either of us begins the match, I notice little bugs flying around. _Why are they there?_

Wayne talks to me. "So I assume you're playing black?" I hear him louder than usual. Then I realise what those bugs are for.

"That's right," I say to him, also hearing my voice being amplified.

"Let me tell you something," Wayne says as he leans forward. He must want to whisper in my ear.

I lean forward and lower my voice. "Make it quick."

"Do you know why you got through to the final round so easily?" he whispers to me.

_!_ I flinch.

"So you figured it out already, huh?" Wayne grins. "That's right; I payed everyone else to lose to you on purpose. When I asked the host before you arrived if there were any new participants, he said you signed up. Seeing as how I want to see how good you are, I bribed everyone else to lose to you on purpose, Alan Spacer. Now I shall humiliate you in front of the entire city." He gives a low chuckle and sits back in his chair.

_Wayne…! You bastard. I'll show you what a huge mistake you've made. You will regret crossing me._ "Are you quite done? I'd like to win." I hear the audience 'ooooohhhhh' as I sit back down straight in my chair.

"Don't get too full of yourself. Mr Spacer," Wayne says to me as he moves his pawn in front of his queen forward two spaces. "You just might lose because of your arrogance."

_Did he even pay attention as to what piece he just moved?_ "Whatever…" I try to hide my emotions from Wayne as I move the pawn in front of my bishop next to my queen forward two spaces as well.

"Wow." Wayne laughs his head off. "I can't believe you let me take your piece so easily!" His pawn takes my pawn.

I move my queen forward enough spaces so it's in line with the white king. "Checkmate."

* * *

The area is so silent that you can hear the mice crawling around the edge of the coliseum grounds. Everyone, even Wayne Taylor (former champion)… All of their jaws are practically hitting the ground. Not only did I beat the champion in less than fifty turns, I beat him with the easiest three-turn tactic in the history of the game. Even Kishi is a better player than this guy.

I stand up from my seat and walk up to the host. Even his jaw is hitting the ground. I say to him, "I think celebrations are in order." I smile.

The host nods and goes to get my money. The coliseum is still dead silent. Until I hear a clap coming from behind me. I turn around to see where the clapping is coming from.

I shudder inside. It's Kishi.

"Woo-hoo! Go Alan!" She's smiling at me.

_Kishi…! What are you doing? I thought you went home!_ I look at Wayne. He's looking at Kishi; which is the last thing I want. _Oh fuck. I only have one option now._ I walk quickly up to Wayne and try to avert his attention from Kishi. "Hey, Taylor."

He looks at me with a glare. "You deceitful little…!"

Luckily, I don't hear his voice being amplified. Which means the bugs are either gone or they turned off after the match. _And now…_ "I command you…" I activate my Geass as I keep my voice low enough for only him to hear, just in case. "Forget about ever seeing that girl being with me. You will not know why she's only cheering me on while everyone else is quiet…!" The symbol in my eye flashes. The ends of my Geass flap like a bird's wings.

Wayne's face calms down and speaks in a monotone. "Understood."

"Good…" I turn my attention to Kishi after I hide my Geass once again. I smile and wave at her. I feel a hand touch my left shoulder and I turn to see the host holding the red pouch that was mentioned on the list of prizes. _1,400,000 jewels, huh? This will work._ I take it off him and put the pouch in my pocket. "Thank you." I head for the exit. _Now to get something for Kishi…_ Before I go to Kishi's house, I go for one of the stores that are still open. I find the shop I'm looking for with a couple of 'steps'. _Perfect…_ I smile to myself, walk over to the door and open it.

* * *

I walk through the doorway of Kishi's house at what looks like 5:00pm. The door still isn't fixed. It's a good thing I contacted the guy who says he knows Kishi and is good at fixing doors. Otherwise I'd be worried about people breaking in after they go home from the tournament. Seeing as how Kishi isn't home and the guy said he'll come over in fifteen minutes, I place what I'm holding under Kishi's tree. _She is going to love this._ Getting up from kneeling, I go around the house and check for any signs of anyone breaking in, just in case. _It doesn't look like anyone has broken in… Hmm?_

I'm in Kishi's bedroom, which smells like mangoes. I see a small piece of paper on her single bed. I walk over to it and pick it up. It's folded. _What is this?_ I open it up.

'_Merry Christmas, Lelouch. Congratulations on winning the chess tournament._

_You never disappoint.'_

"Who wrote this? It looks like my handwriting. But I didn't write this…" _No… It couldn't be…?_ I hear a knock on the door downstairs. _I guess I'll look at this later._ I walk out of Kishi's room and downstairs. It's the guy. "Oh, you're early."

"Yeah, it's Christmas; and I want to finish early today," the guy tells me.

"Oh, I see. That's good." I walk outside.

The guy asks me, "Where are you going?"

"To find Kishi. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"But if she's at the coliseum, then it would take twenty minutes to be able to get there. And that's if you're sprinting."

"I know," I say before I 'step' from the house.

* * *

In less than one minute, I reach the coliseum. The audience has finally started to clear out. Now finding Kishi is going to be even more difficult. _Great… Because you know, I just love trying to find someone in a crowd of at least two-hundred thousand people…_ I close my eyes and remember a spell I read. _That's right. If I remember, there's supposedly a spell that helps me find people._ I focus my magic energy, keeping the pre-requisites in mind.

Nothing.

_Well so much for that. It's a fake spell._ I sigh in exasperation. _I'm going to have to do this the old-fashioned way._ I start looking for Kishi through the crowd. "Excuse me… Oops, sorry… Excuse me… Sorry… Ow; hey, watch it!" I growl at the person who stood on my foot. I go back to finding Kishi. I don't bother excusing myself when passing through the crowd. It's time-consuming and annoying after a while.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. It's gentle. I turn to find a girl with brown hair and eyes, and she's wearing glasses. "There you are, Kishi." I sigh in relief.

"Were you looking for me?"

"I was," I answer. "I want to take you home."

She blushes. "Why, thank you."

I grab her hand. "You're welcome." With a grip on Kishi, I 'step' out of the crowd and eventually reach her house.

* * *

I let go of Kishi and she looks at me funny. "Stop that!"

"Why? It's funny." I laugh.

She doesn't think so. "No it isn't! It scares the crap out of me when you do that!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." I hold my hands up to fence off any reaction she might give me. If she tries to hit me, then I'd try to stop it. If not, then I look silly.

The guy speaks to us. "It looks like you guys are back."

"Eh? When did you get here?" Kishi became confused.

"Your friend here came to me and explained what happened." He looked at me. "He even paid me extra to do it now." He smiles.

Kishi looks at me. I see… I see gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you," she says to me.

"It's no big deal," I tell her. "Shall we go inside?"

"Okay." Kishi nods.

"Well," the guy says as he packs away his tools. "I fixed the door. So I'll be heading home now."

"Yes, thank you." Kishi bows her head.

"Don't worry about it, Ms Barasono." The guy walks off.

"Thank you for doing this for her," I call out to him. He waves goodbye.

Kishi and I walk into her house. "Hey Kishi," I say to her. "Can you sit down please?"

"O-Okay…" Kishi heads over to the couch I slept on this morning and sits down on the right side, which is away from the door. I close the door and head over to the tree.

"Close your eyes," I ask her, and I assume she did so. I pick up the present from underneath the tree and sit down next to her. "Open your hands." She does so again. I place the gift in her palms. "Open your eyes…" She slowly opens her eyes and looks down at her hands. "Merry Christmas, Kishi Barasono." I smile gently.

Kishi is now holding a square-shaped box that's about as thick as my thumb and index finger together. She opens it and her eyes light up as bright as the gift I got her.

Inside the box is a real silver bracelet, with a pendant that's shaped like a snowflake. It sparkles as bright as diamond.

Kishi is speechless. So I end the silence. "Try it on. I hope it looks good on you." _Even though I know as soon as I saw it that you'd be wearing it._

Kishi starts to stutter and tear up. "Oh Le-Lelouch… It's beautiful…" She trails off as she takes the bracelet and puts it on her left wrist. "Thank you!" She suddenly hugs me tightly. "I can't believe you got this for me! I love it! Thank you so much! This is…" She sobs. "This is the best gift anyone could've gotten me… Thank you so much…"

I hug her back. "You're very welcome." I stroke her hair so she can stop crying.

She looks up at me. "Wait here for a second." She gets off the couch and runs upstairs.

"Well I'm glad she likes the gift," I say to myself. _I won't even think about telling her how much that cost. But then again, it isn't as expensive as the other pieces of jewellery that I saw._

Kishi comes back down the stairs. "Can you close your eyes, please?" I do so. With my eyes now closed, I see the sunlight redden the blackness of my eyelids. I hear her footsteps come closer and stop at approximately in front of me. "Now hold out your hands." I do as she says, and I feel weight on my palms. "And now open your eyes."

As soon as I open my eyes, Kishi leans forward and kisses my cheek. I become stunned in place. "K-Kishi…?" She leans back so we make eye contact.

"Think of it as a second Christmas present," she says with a sweet smile, and winks.

I look down at my hands and see a rectangular-shaped box wrapped in gold ribbon. I pull the ribbon and lift the lid up. I gasp. It's a necklace. Gold, too. The pendant is a gold fleur de lis. Seeing it gives me a sense of nostalgia, and warmth. _Oh wow…_

Kishi explains, "I saw this in a jewellery shop today, and I thought of you."

I look up at her.

"Hey… Are you crying?"

"!" I flinch and start to feel a tear roll down my face. Is… _Is the sense of nostalgia that strong in me?_ "Kishi…" I cup her cheek and kiss her forehead. "This is the best gift you could've ever given me. Thank you so much." I wipe my tear away and take the necklace out of the box. I put it around my neck. I see her wrist has the bracelet on it. "By the way… We have a reservation at the best restaurant in the city in an hour. So let's get ready."

"Lelouch, is there anything you didn't plan ahead for?" She asks me.

"The kiss…" I answer with a slight blush. I see her do it as well. "Now come on. I even rented a suit for me to wear tonight." I get up from the couch. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Wait, you're going to wear it now?" Kishi asks me as I head for the door.

I look back at her with a smile. "That's right." I 'step' through the city until I reach the tailor's shop.

* * *

It's 7:45pm.

Kishi and I are in the restaurant, along with the other rich people in the city. The restaurant is high-class, with dozens of Christmas decorations. The food Kishi and I are eating is exquisite. Kishi is wearing a form-fitting red dress that goes down to her ankles and cuts at the thigh, with black high heels. Her hair is neat and tidy. She even has a bit of make-up on.

I'm wearing a black suit with a red tie. It's simple, but it looks damn good (and it should; it cost me a lot of money to rent it). Kishi seems to like it.

"So tell me," I say to Kishi. "What's your story?"

Kishi pauses as she looks at me. "Does the fact that you're asking me that question mean you'll be honest with me if I ask you the same thing?"

To be honest, I think it'll be okay to tell her some of the details of my life. "I promise I'll tell you what is safe to tell."

Kishi already finished her dinner; same with me. She puts her fork and knife down and takes a breath. "Alright then… I think you already know that my parents aren't in the house, despite their room still being there."

I nod.

"My parents died seven months ago."

_How sad…_ I look at her sorrowfully. "My condolences."

"Thank you," she says back to me.

"How did they die?" I ask her sincerely.

"They were killed," she answers. "They went out to the shops one day and a wizard killed them. No remorse whatsoever."

I scowl. "A dark guild wizard?"

"That's right."

"Do you know which dark guild he was a part of?"

"After a few eyewitnesses stood up, it was revealed that the murderer was a member of Grimoire Heart," Kishi tells me.

I keep the scowl on my face and grit my teeth. _Grimoire Heart… It's because of them that my friends were almost killed by Acnologia. And now they kill random people in public? What kind of monsters are they? This sounds like something Tsumibito would do… Wait. _"Did people get a glimpse of what this person looks like?"

"_He _couldn't be identified by his face. Unfortunately, the only thing people saw was his slim figure."

_Slim figure… That sounds like Tsumibito alright. But how is it people couldn't see his face?_ "Did people report hearing him say anything after the incident?" _Knowing Tsumibito, he'd probably rub it in peoples' faces._

"He spoke loud enough for everyone who saw what he did to hear."

"And what did he say?" I ask. I'm still scowling.

"He said, 'No-one can stop me except for myself.' And then he was reported to have disappeared," says Kishi.

_Poor Kishi… Her parents died because of something my other half did. Should I tell her? Should I tell her what I know about him? Then again, there's no point in hiding something from her Detection magic._ "Is that all?"

"Yeah that's… All I know." Kishi looks away and puts her hand over her mouth. I can tell she's trying to hold back tears.

I reach over and grab her hand. I squeeze gently. "Kishi… I have to tell you something. It's important." I soften my facial features.

Kishi looks at me and her eyes start to go glossy. She doesn't say anything.

"I know who killed your parents." _Yes… I have to tell her. I can't let her keep wondering who killed her parents. I have to… _"They were killed by my-."

"AIM DOWN YOUR SIGHTS AND FIRE, BOYS!"

* * *

About ten men burst through the entrance of the restaurant and begin firing all kinds of magic. Fire magic, ice magic, earth magic… The varieties are all unique.

I grab Kishi and bring her under the table. I hear screams come from all over the restaurant. The men are yelling demands, orders… I can't hear them over the smashing of tables and glass and… People. Kishi is screaming as well. She's a lot more frightened than I am.

I bring her over to me and try to calm her with my embrace. I say to her over the noise, "It'll okay Kishi! They won't hurt you! Just stay here, okay?"

"No don't!" Kishi yells back at me. "Please don't leave me! I don't want to lose you too!" She starts to cry.

"But I have to stop them, or else all of these people are going to die! So please…! _Don't worry about me!_" I 'step' out of the table and in front of a goon. With my 'Angel Sphere' in my right hand, I blast the ugly bastard in his face, making him tear through the wall. I fire another one at a goon across the room, and another one behind him. _That's three._ I 'step' behind one goon and kick him into a table. I 'step' on top of another table and scan for any more goons still standing.

"Who the fuck are you, boy?" says a goon from behind me as I sense him fire his magic projectile at me. 'Stepping' out of his line of fire, I use an angel sphere and blast him in the chest, sending him flying across the room and into the Christmas tree that (was) set up.

_More will come, so I should get Kishi out of here._ I take three 'steps' to grab Kishi, get out of the restaurant, and go to higher ground. I summon my wings to stay in the air.

* * *

Never before have I seen something so horrible in my life.

The entire city is a war zone. Hundreds of buildings have been set alight, people are screaming and being struck by magic, and the castle… The castle is missing.

"What the…?" Kishi whispers.

I can't move. All I can do is stay in the air, holding Kishi. And then I realise. _Tsumibito just launched an attack on the captial city!_ After I regain some composure, I say to Kishi, "We have to get out of here now!" I fly straight towards Kishi's house so we can pick up any necessary items (like my money and the outfit Ultear and Meredy gave me). We arrive and I break down the door in a rush. I dismiss my wings and put Kishi down on the couch. I run up the stairs and to the bathroom, where my clothes are.

_That letter I found on Kishi's bed… That was Tsumibito._ I take off my blazer and my tie. _He planned this. He's been planning an attack on Crocus this whole time since I was absent. And now that he finished preparations…_ After stripping the rest of my clothes off, I get into my original outfit and put the money pouch into my pocket._ His next target will be the only chance I have to get an army. He's going to attack the Magic Council!_

Finished, I go back down the stairs and call out to Kishi. "Kishi, we have to go!"

"NO!" Kishi yells at me.

"Kishi; listen to me, we have-!"

"YOU LISTEN TO _ME_!" She glares at me and I can see her crying. "What the hell is going on? Why is the city being attacked by wizards? WHY?"

"It's the Baram Alliance," I say to her calmly. Yelling at her won't help the situation. "Tsumibito has launched an attack on the city in order to remove any resistance when they defeat the Magic Council. If they succeed in doing that, none of the guilds will even think about trying to stop the Baram Alliance. It's an act of terrorism. We have to get out of here before we get killed."

"Who the hell is Tsumibito?" Kishi asks me, still upset.

I didn't realise until now that I said 'Tsumibito'. _Fine, I was going to tell her beforehand anyway._ "He's my other half."

"!" Kishi flinches.

"Tsumibito, Zero, and me. We are the same person. Tsumibito and Zero came from me. They are my creations."

Kishi runs up to me and slaps me hard. "You bastard…! How could you let such a monster exist…?"

"I didn't summon him. I don't know how he got here, but he arrived in Fiore before I did." My cheek is still stinging.

"I thought they were your creations! How can they exist before you did?"

"I don't know." I raise my voice. "I don't know how I even got here, alright? I don't remember anything about me before I arrived in Magnolia. I have no memories of who I am!" Without meaning to, I raise my voice so that I'm yelling. "The only way I can remember anything is if someone listens to me sleep-talking! Do you know what it's like not being able to remember who you were? DO YOU?"

Kishi stands in front of me, dumbfounded.

But I don't stop. "The only people who know about my past are Tsumibito and Zero. And I don't think they're willing to tell me _shit_!"

Kishi starts to look guilty. "So that's what… That's what you were hiding…?"

I don't say anything. I just walk over to the stairs and sit on a step, holding my forehead. I sigh heavily.

Kishi walks up the stairs. Before she leaves, I hear her say, "Give me a minute." Her footsteps quiet down.

_Damn it… _I look down at my neck and pull out the necklace so I can see it.

* * *

After two minutes, Kishi comes back down from the stairs. I look up at her. Her make-up has been removed. She's wearing black skin-tight pants and black boots. She has a blue shirt on, and I see the one symbol I can never mistake. Her shirt has an orange Fairy Tail symbol in the middle.

"The Fairy Tail mark…?" I say to her.

"I've always admired Fairy Tail. Ever since they stopped the Tower of Heaven incident, I've always wanted to join them." She heads for the exit.

"Then I'll take you there," I say as I get up from the step I was sitting on.

"What?" She turns around and looks confused.

"As a member of Fairy Tail, it's my privilege to expand our family." I take off the top part of my outfit and turn around so Kishi can see my back. Kishi can now see the black Fairy Tail symbol that covers two-thirds of my back. "Allow me to welcome you to our family. That is, if you really want to join." I put my top back on and turn around. "What do you say?"

Kishi looks like she's seen the coolest thing in the world. She smiles. "You are just full of surprises, Lelouch Lamperouge."

* * *

It's 9:04pm. Crocus has been reduced to rubble. The Baram Alliance has conquered the capital of Fiore. Their next target: the Magic Council. The Magic Council, right now, will be scrambling for a solution to the sudden attack and destruction of the city. With Kishi by my side, my first priority is getting her to Fairy Tail. I don't want her to get involved in the battle ahead. But how do I ensure she will get there safely? And what should I say to those in Fairy Tail when they see me?

Tsumibito is going down. And I will be the one to ensure it. I will stop Zero too, before he stops me. Those two will regret the day they appeared in Fiore. I will make sure this country sees peace. I will make sure Fiore will never have to deal with my masks again.

I am Lelouch Lamperouge, and as a member of Fairy Tail, I will protect Fiore and my family.

End of Chapter 9

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: ….**

**E.E.: What's wrong, Natsu?**

**Natsu: …**

**E.E.: *ignores him* So now that we have Crocus literally reduced to rubble, it looks like a certain arc will be on hold. *cough*Tournament arc*cough*. I hope you guys like Kishi. And on a side note; there's something I should clear up, in case you didn't get it.**

**Lelouch Lamperouge is Lelouch's true mask; one that he can't take off. It's also empty; which is why he thinks he can fill in the details now that he has no memories for it. Zero and Tsumibito came from this mask. That's why in chapter 8, he said to Zero that he's God. Arrogant? Probably. True? In this story, it is. If you still need explaining, I'll try to elaborate more for you.**

**I'm Epic Ebi, and the next chapter will come somehow, someday…**

**BUT BEFORE THAT! I need to tell you all I have to go on hiatus for a while. I know, I know… I don't want to do it either. But I have to take control of my life first before I can write my story. Trust me; you won't be disappointed by the next couple of chapters.)**


	10. Lelouch and the Magic Council

Chapter 10: Lelouch and the Magic Council

**(A/N: Hey guys! Natsu is taking a break from his job now; and I don't really blame him. Tsumibito just destroyed the entire capital city of Fiore. So for now, I'll do the author's notes by myself.**

**Now I assume everyone likes Kishi, and may be wondering whether Lelouch and she will become a couple. *Troll face* Tee-hee-hee. Maybe. Although some of the other girls in Fairy Tail during the time skip get attractive later on. So maybe a harem?**

**Maybe not. I don't think I can write all of that crazy stuff. I like to stick to one couple. I don't like two or more girls equally in any harem, so if I did try writing it, I'll just piss all of you off because one girl will get more screen time than another. So sorry everyone, but Lelouch won't get a harem in my fic. I forbid it.**

**Meanwhile, enjoy this new chapter. Also, try listening to the Fairy Tail OST once in a while to enhance your experience. It is how I'm writing these latest chapters.)**

**I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail. Draconichero Okayed my title. (Bear with me here: this will be the only chapter you'll see in the next few weeks. I only have time right now to get this to you all. So enjoy while it lasts.)**

**First-person, Lelouch Lamperouge**

* * *

One week, three days, fourteen hours, sixteen minutes.

That's how long it's been since the Kingdom of Fiore was obliterated by Tsumibito's Baram Alliance. The day before that, the masked man Zero announced that he will take down the Baram Alliance and the Magic Council; to begin a new age in the country. These men are me, as much as I am them.

Or so they tell me.

Zero and Tsumibito are masks that I have (apparently) created before my arrival in Magnolia. The questioning of how that happened is not important. My main concern is stopping them before chaos spreads to the entire continent.

So I am making plans for an alliance with the Magic Council.

Kishi and I have been travelling since the Kingdom was destroyed, and we've been trying to get back to Magnolia. My first priority is to get Kishi to Fairy Tail.

We've discussed this during our travels, and I've convinced her that Fairy Tail will be safe once I make an alliance with the Council, and that she'll do just fine on her own. I haven't told her about my involvement with Heaven Wolf Island. However; I have told her that she has to keep my membership of Fairy Tail a secret. When she asked me why, I answered that I'm supposed to be someone else, and seeing my face now will confuse them. When she asked who I was supposed to be, I said I can't tell her. Which is correct. Telling her I used to be Mystogan will eventually lead to me having to reveal my job that Mavis entrusted me to fulfil. Telling Kishi isn't a good idea.

I hope Fairy Tail is still there in Magnolia. I really do. Because right now, Kishi is homeless. Who else will take her in? Obviously, no other guild I can think of will be very helpful.

Thankfully, my concerns have been dealt with.

Kishi and I are in Magnolia Station. Luckily the trains still run despite what happened in the Kingdom. Kishi and I head over to the exit of the train.

"That sure took a while," Kishi says to me as she steps off the train before me, and stretches her arms and legs.

I step off as well. "Well at least it didn't take as long as I thought," I say to her. "Okay. We should head for the guild. I know my way around."

Kishi nods. "Alright."

We exit the station and enter the streets of the town. There are people still around, going into shops, buying food, chatting with one another. Nothing much has changed from when I first walked around the place.

"What do you think?" I ask Kishi, who looks quite fascinated.

"It's so lively," she responds. "I've never been to Magnolia before."

"The guild isn't too far from here. I'll take you there now if you'd like."

"I think we should rest up somewhere first. Can we do that?" Kishi looks at me.

"I promise you this; there's a place where Fairy Tail members can live. It's called Fairy Hills, which is kind of like an apartment building for guild members. After you join, I can take you there so you can rest. How's that?"

Kishi thinks about it for a minute. She answers, "Alright then. I guess you do need to hasten your plan for that alliance."

"That's right. I'm glad you understand." We start walking around the town looking for Fairy Tail.

* * *

We go across Strawberry Street. As we walk along the edge, close enough so we can slip if we're not careful into the river, a group of men rowing a boat call out to us, "Hey, you two! That's dangerous!"

"Yeah! A nice girl named Lucy used to do what you're doing! But she's been missing! So watch out!"

To the last comment, I flinch.

Kishi notices. "What's wrong, Lelouch?"

We walk in front of an apartment. "I-It's nothing," I lie.

"Stop lying and say it," Kishi demands. "You don't have to hide everything."

_Fine._ "Those men said 'Lucy'. I know her. She was a wizard at Fairy Tail."

"Was? Where is she now?" Kishi asks me.

"I heard she went to Heaven Wolf Island."

Kishi stops walking. After a couple of steps, I notice and turn around. I don't know what to say to her, so I stay where I am in silence.

Kishi looks guilty. She's avoiding eye-contact with me altogether. "I see… I'm sorry I brought it up. Forget I asked."

After I find the right words to say, I tell her, "It's alright. I've gotten over it enough so it doesn't trouble me every day."

"But I-!"

"I said, it's fine," I interrupt sternly. Realising I've been hard on her just now; I turn around and try to not look back. "Sorry." I start walking. "Let's keep going."

Kishi quickly follows.

* * *

We finally arrive at my home.

Fairy Tail looks no different now than before I left for Heaven Wolf Island, except for this uneasy feeling I'm getting. It makes sense; the core members of Fairy Tail have been missing for a few weeks now, and they wouldn't have found anything. Of course they'd be feeling depressed. I doubt they will for a long time.

Kishi and I walk over to the front door. "Are you ready to join my family, Kishi?" I ask.

Kishi remains silent for a moment. She looks at me, and I can tell from her face that she's nervous. "I'm ready."

"Well then, I'll make sure you see the guild Master." _Whoever it is now._

Kishi nods and looks at the door.

I push the door open to unlock a new world for my friend.

Little did I know about the guild's change in my absence.

All of the members of Fairy Tail who didn't go to the island are here, but… They're wearing… Uniforms. Black ones, to be specific; with gray lining.

My whole world is going dark. As dark as Zero's mask, as dark as Tsumibito's ambition (whatever that is).

I figure out at this moment that the former case has taken over the guild.

I clearly show on my face a look of shock, disappointment, and anger. _Zero…! How dare you! So those people who surrounded me on the Ikaruga, they were…_ I remain speechless.

Kishi notices. "Are you okay, Lelouch?"

_What do I do? I can't show my face here, and I can't let Kishi stay with the enemy and risk getting hurt. Damn it… Damn it! DAMN-!_

"Lelouch!" Kishi raises her voice a tiny bit. "What's wrong?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turn to face Kishi; not bothering to hide my concerned look on my face. "We have to go."

Kishi looks confused. "What? I don't understand."

"Look closely at what they're wearing." I motion my hand to the Fairy Tail members. "They're the core members of the Black Knights."

Kishi gasps.

"I can't let you join them like this…" I turn around and exit the guild. "This isn't what I planned to happen…!" I run.

"Ah! Lelouch, wait!" Kishi calls out.

* * *

Just when my luck couldn't get any worse, my fellow guild members heard Kishi call my name, and they recognise the name as the person who confronted Zero. Kishi catches up to me, but then again, so do the others; who are, at the moment, screaming at me to stop. Seeing Kishi at my side, I grab her hand and-

Am unable to 'step' as Zero somehow gets in front of me faster than I can blink. I stop running. "Zero…!"

"It's good to see you, Lelouch Lamperouge," Zero says with glee. "And who is the lovely lady with you at the moment?"

_Like hell I'm answering that!_ "What the hell did you do to my guild?" I yell with fury.

"_Your_ guild?" Zero sounds confused.

_Just my luck. I slipped up._ I stand still, unable to figure out what to do.

"Hey you!" I recognise the voice as Macao, one of the oldest members of the guild. I know this because when I was Mystogan, I took the time to recognise all of Fairy Tail's members. It's a good thing, too. Otherwise I'd be pretty lost as to who's talking. "What makes you think our guild is yours? Well?"

Before I can answer, someone (I don't know who) blasts my back with Fire Magic, incinerating the clothing on my spinal area. The guild members behind me gasp in shock. They can clearly see the Fairy Tail mark on my back. _Great. Just like that; my cover is blown._

Zero disappears and I turn my head around. He's now in front of the members of Fairy Tail… No. They're no longer Fairy Tail. They're Zero's Black Knights. "Oh? I didn't expect this!"

I scowl.

Zero continues. "It looks like Lelouch Lamperouge is a member of Fairy Tail."

All of the Black Knights look on in disbelief.

Kishi holds my arm. "Lelouch, are you…?"

_Damn it. It looks like I have no choice. Sorry guys…_ I stop scowling and smirk. "That's right. I am a member of Fairy Tail. Black Knights; say hello to Mystogan!" I turn to face them. "I have escaped Heaven Wolf Island intact."

I let the last sentence sink in, intensifying the shock in the Black Knights' eyes, as well as surprising Kishi.

Before I continue, Zero asks me, "But how is it that you escaped? Acnologia destroyed the island completely. No-one has been found yet."

_I have the perfect lie, but even I don't like it._ I laugh, surprising Zero and his subordinates. "So you don't see it, Zero? What a shame. I guess I have to tell you." I take a few steps forward, and hold my left hand up like I'm holding a cocktail glass. "I summoned Acnologia. Before he destroyed Heaven Wolf Island, I made him mount me on top to escape."

Zero gasps along with his Knights. He didn't expect that one from me. "But how…?"

I hear Kishi gasp as well. "Lelouch…"

"That's crap!" Macao yells. "Mystogan would never do that to his guild members! You're lying, you bastard!"

The other guild members mumble and nod in agreement.

"Macao: calm down," Zero orders. "Have any of you seen Mystogan before this event?"

They stay silent.

"You should know your subordinates better, Zero," I mock. "Mystogan never revealed his face. Until now, anyway." I grin a little wider, feeling like Tsumibito for a second, before I shun the thought and force it out of my head. "You see, I planned on betraying the guild from the start. You were all deceived by me. And now that the core members of Fairy Tail are dead, none of you will become strong enough to stop me from disbanding you." I laugh like Tsumibito. I guess he really is a part of me. Especially since I laugh and smirk just like he does.

The Black Knights can no longer contain themselves, and they try to rush me.

With deep, masked regret, I raise my hands, engulf them in cutting-edge magic, and 'step' through the entire group, cutting through all of their uniforms enough to scare them. The move is called 'Black Judgement'. With a combination of another move called 'Angel Knife' and the 'Angel Step'; I can cut through targets faster than they can react, like a sword. I 'step' back to where Kishi is. "Follow my lead," I whisper in her ear.

Kishi pauses, but says, "Alright."

"Sorry Zero," I say to him while holding Kishi to my chest. "But this girl is under my control."

Zero sounds surprised. "You mean you…?"

_Good, so he knows what Geass is as well; his reaction confirmed one of my suspicions. That saves me the trouble of revealing it to the Black Knights. _"That's right." I smile while bringing my chin down to look sadistic. "Now then… I wish to speak to you alone, Zero. And I want your Black Knights to not hurt my puppet."

Zero laughs. "You're a fool, Lelouch. What makes you think you're in a position to demand something from-?"

Before I let him finish his sentence, I 'step' behind him, bring his arm around his back (using magic to increase the strength of the hold) and hold a 'knife' under his throat. "How about now?" I turn him around to face the large group, who are still shocked.

"L-Lelouch…! You-!" Zero mutters in shock.

"If none of you follow my demands when I get back, I will gladly kill you all!" I stop Zero from talking. "So make sure you stay where you are. You got it?" _You're doing alright, Lelouch. Just a little longer and it won't be as hard. Stay strong… Stay strong…_

The Black Knights start to move a little, until I see a few heads nod. _Good enough._ "See you all in a couple of minutes," I say before I 'step' with Zero in hand to the back of the Fairy Tail guild, facing the ocean. I let go of him. As he steps forward and turns to face me, I use 'Restrict' on him, holding him in place. "You _will_ answer my questions, Zero." I loosen the grip around his voice box.

"You're quite powerful, Lelouch. Too bad you're not very fit," he says through small breaths.

"Shut up! You will only talk when I say you can. What did you hope to gain through recruiting the Black Knights?"

"Interesting. Don't you consider them members of Fairy Tail?"

Being careful with my words, I answer, "Not with what you did to them. They're not the guild that they used to be."

"Don't tell me you have a soft spot for the guild you planned to manipulate?"

_I do, but you will never know that._ "Not at all; you reformed them into your pawns, so I say they're beyond recognition of what I thought was the strongest guild in Fiore. Tell me, Zero. What's your goal with the Black Knights?"

"My goal?" Zero ponders. "I need an army to combat Tsumibito. Since Fairy Tail was in a state of depression before I became the Master, I found them easy enough to approach."

"What did you say to convince them to not only join you, but even make you their Master?" I ask.

"I said that they would not have to worry about taking care of the guild without a Master, and they voted me in for the spot," Zero tells me.

"You're hiding something from me. Spill it."

Zero chuckles. "You're very perceptive, aren't-!"

Before he finishes his sentence, I place the hold on Zero's voice box again. "Stop fooling around and answer my damn question," I say coolly, so he knows I mean business.

After regaining his voice, Zero says, "I convinced them that I knew what happened to their friends on Heaven Wolf Island, and that I would tell them what happened to their friends if they helped me fight the Baram Alliance. Satisfied?"

_You deceitful bastard. How could you do that to them?_ "Much better," I answer, still hiding my true emotions. "Next question. Who are you under the mask? Are you really me, or are you someone else?"

Zero pauses. Then he says, "Why don't you take it off and find out?" he dares.

_Gladly._ I walk up to him and reach for his mask. Placing my hands on it, I see the back of the mask contract. I lift it up-

* * *

And drop the mask onto the ground. I stare in horror and disbelief. "N-No way…!" Zero has no head. The neck is emitting a black smoke. _How the hell is this possible?_

"Surprised?" The mask says to me from the ground. "This is who I really am. I'm a symbol, Lelouch."

"A symbol…?"

"The man behind the mask isn't what defines him, but rather his actions are what define him. That's similar to something you said quite a long while ago. For all the times you wore my mask, you were wearing the symbol of hope and peace. Your actions are what created me. That is why I am you, Lelouch. I'm a manifestation of your personal philosophies."

I don't say anything. I'm too shocked to speak.

"Do you understand now? As Zero, it is my obligation to destroy the greater of two evils with the lesser. That is why I plan to eliminate Tsumibito and the Magic Council. They are the greater evil. I am the lesser. When we first met, I asked you to join me because that's what I do. I recruit people to fight against corruption. I rally the people, Lelouch."

_I see. I get it now. But…_ "You can't change the world, Zero. You won't succeed."

"You can't change the world _without getting_ _your hands dirty._ That's another thing you used to say."

"!" I remain speechless.

"It's sad, really. You really don't remember anything. But how is it that we, Tsumibito and I, do?" Zero inquires.

After regaining some composure, I demand, "You will tell me what you know. _Everything._"

"Alright then," says Zero, which surprises me. "But can you put on my mask for me? My hands are kind of stuck." He chuckles.

Ignoring the clearly intended joke, I pick up the mask and put it on his…head. "Before you tell me what you know; why is it that you're being so cooperative?"

"I'll be honest with you; I still hope that you will join me," Zero answers with the same tone he usually has. "You and I can make a good team. We can defeat Tsumibito together. We can lead Fiore into a time of peace! I'll ask you again, Lelouch Lamperouge. Will you join me; join Fairy Tail?"

I pause to consider my choices. I can join Zero and take down Tsumibito and the one group with a larger chance of winning if I form an alliance with them; or… Or I can…

"Zero."

"Hmm?"

"I thought I told you when we first met; two kings cannot lead a single army. However; I agree with what you said before. A man's actions define him. The world won't change with clean hands. I would choose to use evil to destroy the greater evil. But…"

"But?" Zero repeats.

"I don't need to work with you to follow through with my goals." Releasing my hold on Zero, 'stepping' into the air with wings spread, and aiming a right–handed 'sphere' at him, I finish my last words addressed to the masked man. "I hereby declare war with you and Tsumibito, Zero! In the name of _true _peace; I will stop the both of you!" _And change Fairy Tail to the way it was._ I fire a beam of my magic at Zero, destroying the spot he was standing on and creating a small crater.

I sense Zero coming from behind me (thanks to my magic heightening my senses), and I turn around to see what kind of magic Zero uses to keep himself in the air. I 'step' back to get a clear view.

Zero is holding himself up with a sort of mechanical float system. It's dark red in colour, but the six ends of it are glowing green. Zero's forearms are black and gold and his wrists appear to be thicker than they should be. His hands are silver with gold fingers. He's wearing a black, mechanical muscle suit over everything except the cape.

"You made a big mistake, Lelouch," Zero says with a frustrated tone in his voice. "Fine. If you want to challenge me, then go ahead. Thinking you would join your other half in arms was naïve of me. But I won't hold back on you or Tsumibito. I will change this world with my own hands!" Zero vanishes and appears behind me. "And you are in the way."

I try turning around, but Zero blasts me with a dark red, electrical ball; coming from the devices on his wrists. I crash into the Fairy Tail building and end up in the main hall. Debris is everywhere. Dust is settling in the air. I struggle to get up. My back is killing me. But at least the pain isn't as bad as Tsumibito's strike on my collarbone back on Heaven Wolf Island.

Getting up on my feet, I try to see through the mess in the sky. _Damn! How fast is this bastard?_

"Looking for me?"

Instead of turning around to face Zero, I 'step' out of his sight.

"What?" Zero gasps.

Reappearing behind him, I charge a 'sphere' and aim for his back.

He turns around in time and blocks my hand as I drive it forward… With his own hand!

"!" _I-Impossible! How is he so strong?_ My magic starts to cackle.

Zero crushes my magic with his hand. The force is so strong that it creates a shockwave that destroys all of the tables and chairs, and it blows Zero and me apart. Zero crashes into the counter, and I break down the door.

_Will I ever have a day where I don't break down a door?_ I'm surprised I manage to think that through all of this chaos.

The Black Knights start to run over to the guild. Before they possibly trample me, I 'step' out of their line of sight and appear before Kishi. I collapse onto my knees-

And Kishi catches me. "Lelouch! Are you okay?"

"Just a scratch," I answer; not sounding hurt. _Who am I kidding? I'm a mess. I should work on my fitness level._

"Let's get out of here," Kishi says to me. "This isn't the Fairy Tail I've grown to admire. They should be ashamed of themselves."

"Kishi… I… I'm sorry that I haven't told you the truth… About myself, and-."

"The questions can come later. Right now, we need to go." Kishi picks me up on my feet, grabs my hand, and we start to run.

Today's the last day I will ever set foot in Magnolia until the Black Knights have disbanded.

* * *

Three weeks, five days, four hours, twenty-seven minutes.

During our travels, Kishi and I…

* * *

_Stopped near a lake that's surrounded by trees._

"_Alright Lelouch, tell me," Kishi turned to face me. "What do you know about Heaven Wolf Island?"_

_I pause. "Very well then. I promised you that I would tell you later. I guess that's now." I closed my eyes and sighed. "I'm not from this world."_

_Kishi flinched. "What?"_

"_In fact, I don't know where I'm from. I can't remember."_

"_But what was that about being Mystogan? Wasn't he one of the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail?"_

"_He was. But Mystogan wasn't from here as well. He comes from the parallel world, Edolas. He left me with the responsibility of playing his role in his absence."_

"_But doesn't Mystogan use staves? What happened to them?"_

"_They were destroyed by the former leader of the Eight Kin of Purgatory, Tsumibito. When Grimoire Heart attacked, I was left immobile and unable to fight, until I awoke my own magic power."_

"_Black Angel Magic…"_

"_That's right. I only got it because I overcame what I once did in my past. But I don't remember any of it."_

"_Tell me," Kishi asked sincerely. "What happened after Grimoire Heart retreated?"_

_I found it hard to tell Kishi. Pain was felt in my heart. But I managed to find the words. "Acnologia came and almost killed us."_

"_So you didn't summon Acnologia after all. But what do you mean by 'almost'?"_

"_The first guild Master of Fairy Tail, Mavis Vermillion, turned the rest of the guild members into magic energy to save them from Acnologia's attack." I felt like crying._

_Kishi paused and looked down. "And how long will it be until they turn back to normal?"_

"_I don't know," I said truthfully. "But I… I really…" I fell to my knees and held my head low, tears forming in my eyes. "I wanted to save my family. They're all I had in this world…" The tears fell. The pain of remembering what happened to my friends was too much._

_Kishi hugged me and I felt her shaking, like she was crying too. "It's okay, Lelouch. We have each other right now, don't we?"_

"_Kishi I…" I broke down into sobs. "What do I do now…? How can I recruit… …the Magic Council by myself? What if they all… …attack me? I'm not strong enough to take them on myself!" I cried harder._

"_It's okay Lelouch," Kishi comforted through a strained voice, holding back tears. "I will help you get through this. I don't hate you for keeping all this from me; you're my friend and I want to help no matter what!" Kishi started sobbing too. "So please… Don't doubt yourself, okay?"_

_I gripped Kishi's shirt at the back, trying to control myself. "T-Th-Thank… Thank you… Kishi…"_

_We cried for what felt like several hours._

* * *

That was two weeks ago.

After exploring Fiore for such a long time, we see something that's not too far from our location.

"Hey Lelouch," says Kishi. "Is that a cave?" She points at the spot.

"Yeah, it is. We should try setting up camp there for the night."

"Right."

We walk over to the cave-

And are captured in a magic circle under our feet. The circle glows green.

"Look out!" I grab Kishi and leap to the left, to escape the explosion the circle set off. _A mine…_

"Impressive," a male's voice calls out. "It looks like you found us." A man comes out of the cave.

_No way… That's-!_ "Doranbolt!" I exclaim.

Doranbolt looks confused. "How do you know my name?"

"Lelouch; who is this person?" Kishi asks me as we get up from the ground.

"Doranbolt was a spy from the Magic Council that planned on disbanding Fairy Tail during the Heaven Wolf Island incident," I explain as I let go of her.

Doranbolt is surprised. "How do you know so much about me? Who the hell are you?"

_Right; I forgot that he doesn't know who I am._ I turn my back around to show Doranbolt that I'm a member of Fairy Tail. "My name is Lelouch Lamperouge, and I'm a self-proclaimed exile of Fairy Tail." I turn back around to face my former 'apprentice'. "You knew me as 'Mystogan'."

"!" Doranbolt takes a step back. "You…! How are you here? Mystogan was on-!"

"Heaven Wolf Island. Yes, I was. But I got off it."

Doranbolt scowls. "But how?"

"I will tell you and the Magic Council under the condition you allow me to have an audience with everyone who's still with you."

"Why?"

"Because the Baram Alliance and the Black Knights will eliminate you completely without my help! Don't you get it? You are all at war with very powerful forces. Without my help, you won't even exist anymore." I scowl.

"Doranbolt, why are you taking so long out here?" Another person emerges from the cave. His hair is tied back, and he's wearing glasses.

"Lahar…" Doranbolt turns around and looks in surprise. "Why did you come too?"

"I was sent here to pick you up, because you were taking so long to deal with the problem." Lahar looks at me. "And who are you?"

"Lelouch Lamperouge; self-proclaimed exile of Fairy Tail. I was on Heaven Wolf Island when Acnologia attacked."

"!" Lahar reacts the same way to Doranbolt. "How are you still alive?"

"If I can hold an audience with the main members of the Magic Council, then I will explain everything to you," I say to Lahar.

Lahar pauses to consider my proposal. "Fine," he answers. "Come with us." He turns around and walks into the cave. Doranbolt follows.

"Let's go, Kishi," I say as I head towards the cave.

"Got it." Kishi follows suit.

* * *

The cave leads us to a secret location that no-one knows about. When we exit the cave, we enter a room full of candles (which light up the whole area), with a table in the centre, and a few seats. In the seat at the back is an elderly man wearing armour.

"Doranbolt, Lahar," the old man sitting in the chair says. "Why did you bring outsiders into our hideout?"

"Chairman Doma, I promise you that this is for good reason," says Lahar. "This man survived Acnologia's attack on Heaven Wolf Island."

"What?" Chairman Doma leans back in his chair in shock. "Impossible! We've been investigating what happened for weeks, and now this man claims to be a survivor?"

"Chairman Doma…" I step forward. "I need to speak with all of the core members of the Magic Council. It's important."

"Get out of my sight, boy!" Doma snaps back. "I'm not buying your lies!"

_Something's not right here. _"Lahar."

"Yes?"

"Why are the members of the Magic Council here and not at Headquarters?"

Lahar stays silent for a moment. "We were attacked."

"By the Baram Alliance?"

"Yeah, how did you know? The Council never revealed to the public that we were attacked."

"Because the Black Knights are located in Magnolia." _Damn it, I really don't want to do this. But I have no choice; otherwise I won't gain the Council's trust._ "Their members are wizards from Fairy Tail."

"What?" Doranbolt blurts out in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

"I am. I was going to take Ms. Barasono over there to get her to be a member. After all, the Baram Alliance burnt down the capital. But there were complications. We ran into Zero."

"Young man!" The Chairman yells at me. "I demand you to leave immediately, or else I will call the army and have you executed!"

Looking at Doma, I activate my Geass. "You will follow all of _my_ orders until further notice."

Doma screams and holds his head as my Geass takes control. "ARRGH, NO! I MUST FOLLOW… MASTER TSUMIBITO'S ORDERS!"

Everyone in the room (I assume) takes a step back and gasp.

_I knew it. Tsumibito used his Geass on the Chairman when he had the chance to make sure I don't form an alliance with the Council. Very clever, but I could still see through it._

Doma stops screaming and sits back down in his chair, with a clear stoic face. "I understand."

"You bastard…!" Doranbolt comes up to me and grabs me by the front of my clothing. His face scares me a little. "What the hell did you do to the Chairman!"

"I released him from the enemy's hold. I was doing you all a favour," I say in a calm tone.

"How do you know he was under the enemy's control in the first place, huh?" Doranbolt gets into my face.

"Are you deaf?" I insult while raising my voice. "Did you hear a single word coming out of the Chairman's mouth? He screamed at the top of his lungs saying it." I scowl, showing that Doranbolt is pressing my buttons. "Unless you're under Tsumibito's control as well."

"Say that again!" Doranbolt raises his fist and tries to punch my head in.

Raising my right hand quickly, I form a 'sphere' and blast it into his stomach, sending him flying into the walls of the cave. He's unconscious from the blow to his head. "Lahar, does Doranbolt usually act this way?"

"LELOUCH, LOOK OUT!" Kishi screams at the top of her lungs.

I turn around and suddenly Lahar holds a knife in front of him and-

_STAB!_

"LELOUUUUUUUUUUCH!"

* * *

Lahar stares at me with a blank look in his eyes. A very blank look. And I feel… A pain somewhere. But where is it? And why did Lahar's eyes suddenly roll back?

I look down at my hands. One of them won't move. I look at my left shoulder, and I see the knife stuck in it. Blood is pouring out and staining my clothes. I look at my right hand.

I don't feel scared at all. I don't feel regret.

My right hand has gone through Lahar's chest and to the other side. I feel the magic power pulsing around the outside of my fingers. Blood is spewing out of Lahar from the mouth and his chest.

I just sent a 'knife' through his heart. I defended myself.

I pull my hand out of Lahar's chest and he falls to his knees. He leans over to the left side, and collapses.

I look up at Kishi plainly. "Kishi… Are you…?" I stop talking.

Kishi is looking at me with fear in her eyes. Not just any ordinary fear, either. She's looking at me with _true fear_. She holds her quivering hands up to her mouth, still not believing what she saw. Is she frightened because I almost died? Is she frightened because Lahar died?

Or is it because I killed him that she is scared?

Kishi starts to break down. She falls to her knees and starts to scream a little.

I walk up to her in a non-threatening way. "Kishi, it's alright. I'm fine."

Still screaming.

_SLAP!_

I used my wings and slapped her backhandedly, scratching her face by accident. "Calm down!" I order her.

Kishi picks her head up and looks at me blankly. "Lelouch…?"

Dismissing my wings, I kneel in front of her, ignoring the pain in my left shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright, Kishi. I'm alive. I was defending myself."

"Lelouch I…"

"Stop talking. Go to a chair and calm down. You can talk to me after you compose yourself, alright? Nod if you understand."

She nods and goes over to a chair.

_Kishi… I am so sorry you had to see that. You never should've been here in the first place. You were meant to be at Fairy Tail and be protected, and loved by other people. Damn it… I'm so sorry…_ Masking my concern for Kishi, I stand up and look at my left shoulder. _I need to do something about this wound._ "Doma," I say to the Chairman.

"Yes?"

"Do you have a medical kit around here? I'm injured and I need to stop the bleeding somehow."

"I'm afraid not," the Chairman tells me.

_Looks like I'll have to improvise then._ "Come over here now."

"At once, sir." Doma gets out of his seat and walks around the table to get to me. I walk over to Lahar's body and take off his cape with my right hand. "Rip off my coat, Doma. I can't reach my back right now. And make sure to be careful with the knifed area."

"Yes," the Chairman replies and rips my coat off from the collar, carefully taking it off the section that is stuck from the knife. He drops it and it falls to my feet.

_This was a good coat too._ I sit down and face Doma. "Now I need you to do two things for me. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to bite down on this cape while you pull out the knife from my shoulder. That's your first step. Your second step is to stop the bleeding from both sides of my shoulder. To do that, you need to put pressure on the wound from both sides. When I ask you to move your hand, I'm going to tear this cape up so I can wrap it around the stab wound. If you understand, then repeat my orders." I start to feel a little dizzy. _Oh shit; not good._

"Pull the knife out of your shoulder when you bite down on the cape, and keep the wound from bleeding while you try to wrap it up."

"G-Good." The dizziness starts to kick in a little more. "And also; if I fall unconscious and I haven't finished cutting up the cape, then I need you to cut the cape with the knife and wrap it around my shoulder."

"I understand," the Chairman replies.

"Alright… Let's get going." I bite down on the cape and nod to Doma for him to pull the knife out of my shoulder. He kneels down and grabs the handle. _Here we go._

Doma starts to pull the knife out of my shoulder.

"!" I screech with the cape in my pain is completely unbearable. The steel rubbing against the muscle in my shoulder… Ugh. I feel like throwing up.

Thankfully, the pain doesn't last long. The knife is now in Doma's hand. I take the cape out of my mouth. "Give me the knife and cover the wound," I order Doma, and he complies.

Holding the cape under my sandals, I hold the knife in front of me and cut through the blue cape. My vision blurs slightly more. _Damn it… I got to hurry up._

Finished cutting the cape up, I drop the knife and grab the piece of cloth. "Now wrap this around the wound." My mind temporarily goes blank.

"Right," Doma says as he grabs the cloth and ties it around my shoulder.

My vision drops significantly. "Doma…" I call out. Did I call out? I couldn't tell.

"Yes, sir?" Doma's words feel like they're coming from a mile away.

"Dress the wound regularly. And… If something happens, protect Kishi…"

I fall over on my right side.

* * *

_I open my eyes and look around. All I see is white. A person is standing in front of me. It's a male. He has brown hair and green eyes, and he's wearing the full Zero clad, minus the helmet. I know who this is._

"_Lelouch," he calls out. "It's me, Suzaku."_

"_Suzaku…" I repeat the name in my head._

"_Listen. C's World sent me here in my sleep. I need to speak to you."_

"_You do?" I look at him strangely. "What's wrong?"_

"_Nothing's wrong, it's just…" Suzaku drifts off._

"_Hmm?"_

"_I just want to talk to you. I've been feeling the need to for a while. Being Zero is harder than you made it to be."_

_We laugh._

"_So how's Nunnally?" I ask him. "Is she doing well?"_

"_With my help and everyone else in Britannia who Nunnally asks for assistance for something made the job for her much easier. She's doing well."_

"_I see." I smile. "Good for her."_

_We stay silent for a moment._

"_Nunnally misses you, you know?" Suzaku breaks the silence._

"_I imagine she would. But I don't want her to keep missing me. The Zero Requiem was designed to make people look towards the future. I want her to live her life the way she wants to. I can't help her anymore."_

"_She understands that. But it still hurts her. After all, you were her only full sibling."_

_I close my eyes and nod. "How is everyone else?"_

"_Kallen went back to school and is doing well. Ohgi and Viletta are married. The Student Council are doing okay without you, and C.C. is… Well; none of us know. We haven't seen her since you died."_

"_That's just like her," I say, reminiscing. "Always so independent when she puts her mind to it."_

_Suzaku smiles. "You seem to be doing alright. So where are you exactly? I understand that C's World sent you somewhere."_

"_It's a long story," I say to my friend. "I'm-."_

_The world shakes around me and I see Suzaku drifting away._

"_W-What the-?"_

"_We're waking up," Suzaku says to me. "It looks like I'll have to talk to you the next time you're asleep." Suzaku smiles again. "See you soon, Lelouch…" He fades._

"_Suzaku, wait!" I run towards him. "Don't go just yet!" I start to fade. And then I-_

* * *

...slowly open my eyes and see a girl with glasses hovering over me. "Lelou…" Her voice is quiet. "…louch…"

I can hardly hear her. My eyes sharpen and I can see her worried face completely.

"Lelouch… Are you…?"

My hearing finally sharpens. "K-Kishi…? Is that…?"

"Oh thank goodness!" Kishi sighs in relief. "You're awake!"

"Did I…fall asleep?" I ask her.

"You were unconscious for a few hours," Kishi tells me. "But I took care of you while Doma waited for you to tell him what to do."

"I see." I blink and say to her, "So you saw me put him under my control? I forgot you were there."

"You don't have to tell me unless it's important. I won't ask you anything about it. You can tell me when you're ready. Okay?" Kishi gives off a sincere smile.

I sit up slowly and look at my left shoulder. The cloth is fresh. The blood has stopped flowing out. "Okay," I say to her offhandedly.

"Just one question," Kishi says.

"Yes?" I look at her.

"Who's Suzaku?"

I pause. "Suzaku…? What do you mean? I don't know anyone named 'Suzaku'."

"You were talking in your sleep, and you said that name quite a few times. You seriously don't remember that?"

"I don't remember any of the dreams I have. At least since I got here," I answer truthfully.

"… I see." Kishi slowly comes towards me and rests her head on my right collarbone. "It's okay. I can tell you're not lying."

"Kishi…" I slowly raise my right arm pat her head with my hand. I turn my head around and look at Lahar. There's a sheet over his face. "Hold on. Did you…?"

"I gave him peace. I think deep down he was at least a morally good person," says Kishi.

_My guess is that Tsumibito used his Geass on the entire Magic Council; maybe even Doranbolt. But I can't be certain with him._ "I see. I'm sorry you had to see that earlier."

"Well…" Kishi stops talking for a second. "I'm sure I'll move on eventually. And if I don't, then you can use that strange power of yours to force me to-."

"No," I say with a serious tone in my voice. I lift her head up so I can look into her eyes. "I will _never _do that to you. This power of mine is a curse. I do not want to use it on you. You deserve better than that, Kishi. So please… _Don't_ say that again."

She laughs sweetly. "I knew you'd say that. I just wanted to hear you say it…" She leans forward and…

...kisses me on the lips.

End of Chapter 10

**(A/N: Aaaaaaaand there you have it!**

**I considered having Lelouch and the Magic Council join forces, but the story flow prevented me from doing so. So basically, I lied to you all. My bad!**

**Natsu will come back soon, fans. Don't worry. But on a side note…**

**What do you think of Lelouch's power? Is it too Mary Sue-ish, or is it okay because he's weak and he doesn't know how many spells are true? I want people to tell me so I can modify the story a bit.**

**Look forward to the next chapter. If you have any questions, I will answer them without revealing too much. And I hope I don't bore you with my hiatus.)**


	11. The Great Wizard Generals

Chapter 11: The Great Wizard Generals

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: *bursts through my door* I MADE IT BACK ALIVE!**

**E.E.: ME TOO! But come on, Natsu. You said something similar in Episode 2.**

**Aside from that…**

**This took a while to write, but I'm glad it's finally done. Now I'm going to let you all in on something…**

**There will be a time-skip. Now don't fret; it isn't very long. But the thing is; I don't want to write seven full years out onto this. It'd be the same stuff happening over and over again. 'I did this, and that, and this… Oh, look! Seven years later!' It's tedious and pointless, and I don't want to do that. At least I'm not skipping seven to nine full years.**

**Natsu: Can I speak now?**

**E.E.: Sorry. Go ahead.**

**Natsu: What's with the title of the chapter?**

**E.E.: Follow me, Natsu. I'll explain everything. *walks to Natsu and puts arm over shoulder, then walk off completely* Oh yeah; one second. *Walks back to the screen* After the time-skip, I'm switching back to third-person. *Walks back to Natsu*)**

**I do not own Code Geass, Fairy Tail, or any of the character designs for expies. Draconichero Okayed my title.**

**First-person; Lelouch Lamperouge**

* * *

Kishi releases her romantic hold on my mouth and looks deeply into my eyes. She's beautiful in the candlelight. The burning wax adds a whole new element to her appearance from what I normally see. And her eyes… They glitter like the night sky.

_Why am I thinking poetically?_ "Kishi… Do you…?"

"I like you, Lelouch," Kishi answers truthfully. "I've liked you since we started travelling together. During our travels, I found your good qualities. And I like that about you! You're good to me, and you care for me… You're everything I've wanted in a guy! So please, don't change who you are, Lelouch!" Kishi stares passionately into my eyes.

_So she does feel that way about me… But what do I feel towards her? To be honest, I never really considered the possibility of me and her being in a relationship since that time in the bathroom-_ I blush at the thought and shake my head to remove it. _I should tell her the truth._ "Kishi… I like you too."

Kishi lights up and smiles.

"But…"

"Huh?" Kishi smiles less and starts to look a little worried.

"Am I really good enough for you? I mean… Zero and Tsumibito… They came from me."

Kishi remains silent.

"So if they're me, then that means that my personality consists of them. And they're horrible men. So why…? Why should I like someone like you when I have these flaws in my personality? I don't…" I start to angst. "I don't deserve you…! I-"

Kishi kisses me again to silence me. Her lips are so soft that it makes me weak in my knees. She stops and looks at me with that same look in her eyes: compassion. "But you _do_ deserve me. Don't you see? You need a pillar of support to help you deal with your worries. It's not easy dealing with everything alone. Let me be your pillar, Lelouch. I want to be one for you." She kisses me for the third time. "Please?"

_A pillar of support… I guess she's right._ I smile at her. "Alright then. Thank you, Kishi." It's my turn to kiss her back.

"May I suggest something, sir?" Doma interrupts.

Kishi breaks away from my kiss and yells at Doma, "OH GEE! WAY TO RUIN THE MOMENT, GRAMPS!"

"Calm down Kishi," I tell her. I look at Doma. "What do you have in mind?"

Doma begins. "The Magic Council holds prisoners back at headquarters that could be of use to you if you explain the situation."

_I considered asking the Magic Council about that before they attacked me. But at least that option is still possible._ "That's good. I planned on doing that from the beginning. Can you name specific prisoners that would be of use to me?"

* * *

Four weeks, two days, seven hours, one minute.

That's how long it took for Doma, Kishi and I to _finally_ reach the prison. But here's the problem. The guards looking after the prisoners are missing.

"Kishi, Doma; stay back," I say as I hold my arm out to block their path. I'm now wearing Doranbolt's clothes; a red long-sleeved shirt with black pants and boots. It isn't like I can continue to wear what I was beforehand.

"Alright," Kishi complies.

"As you wish," Doma replies without question.

I start to walk around the ground and look up. The prison cells are high up in the air, so it's impossible to see who's in what from the ground. Following the railing, I take note of an open door to my left. I walk over and open it all the way.

Nothing.

Walking backwards, I follow the railing again. _Where are the guards? I assume this place should be the most guarded from the Baram Alliance and the Black Knights. What if it's a trap, then? But who would've set it up?_ My thoughts are interrupted by the objects in front of me.

It's a platform, and a staff with the symbol of the Magic Council in the centre. Which means the guards use the staff to unlock the prison cells, and fly over to them using the platforms (according to what Doma told me a few weeks ago).

"Hey, Lelouch!" Kishi calls out from the distance. "Have you found anything?"

"Yeah, I did!" I call back. "There's a staff and a platform! I think there are more of these lying around!" _For whatever reason, anyway._

"Alright then! I'll go look!" Kishi runs down the other way from where I went down.

"Doma; follow Kishi and find a platform!" I order the Chairman.

I see him nod and follow Kishi.

Looking back at the platform, I pick up the wooden staff and step onto the platform. _If I remember correctly, Doma gave me the names of the strongest prisoners, but not where they are. Let's see who this is then…_ I plant my feet firmly on the platform, fly, and try to locate the first prisoner. When I find the person who fits his description, I call out to the person, "Andreas Rokubuki."

* * *

Andreas Rokubuki has short and spiky white hair and a very tan body. He has metallic arms and is wearing the white prisoner pants with ankle shackles. He looks up at me, and I can see the fierce look in his red eyes. It's almost like he's on a mission for revenge. "What do you want?" he asks with a husky and angry voice.

"I understand you were imprisoned by the Magic Council a long while ago. You were found guilty for betraying the army so you can protect your family from the enemy. But since you abandoned your post, you were tried unfairly."

"And so what?" Andreas asks as he looks back down. "I was told they were killed anyway. And now I have no reason to live. Except for getting revenge at those bastards who took them away from me…!"

"How would you like an opportunity to get your revenge?" I ask him.

"What…?" Andreas looks up in surprise.

"If I have your cooperation in the upcoming battle that I plan to fight in, I will assist you in exacting revenge on those responsible." I let these words sink in. "Do we have a deal?"

Andreas smirks. "You drive a hard bargain." He scowls. "But how can I be certain I can trust you?"

"Not to worry. I plan on taking down the bastards who have made my life hell as well." I scowl as I think about Zero and Tsumibito.

Andreas chuckles. "So you're like me then?" He smiles again. "Alright... I accept you proposal. What's your name?"

"I am Lelouch Lamperouge. I'm a self-proclaimed exile of the former guild Fairy Tail."

"Former?" Andreas looks confused. "What happened to the strongest guild in Fiore?"

"They've been recruited by the enemy and have become his pawns," I say to him with hate in my voice.

"I see." Andreas gets up from sitting and walks closer to me. "Can you get me out of here? I need to move around more often."

I chuckle. "Of course. Just give me a second." I raise the staff up to the purple wall in between the two of us, and I focus my magic into the tip of it. I shoot it at the cell, and it starts to disintegrate the cell slowly.

After a few seconds, the front of the cell disappears completely. Andreas stretches his arms and breaks the chains on his legs.

_Well that was easy for him. How strong is he?_ "Jump on. I'll take you down."

Andreas raises his hand. "No, I'm good. Let me get down myself."

I move the platform back to give him room. _Is he serious about jumping from twenty metres in the air-?_

Andreas jumps forward and lands on his feet back down at the railing. The execution is flawless. I am only able to stare at him blankly.

I blink. "… Are you serious?"

"Hey; Lelouch! We found some platforms!" Kishi calls out again.

"Uh… Okay." I snap out of my astonishment and look at her. "But what about staves?"

"No, there aren't any around. I guess only one guard was allowed one."

_I see. So then…_ "How many platforms are there?"

"Just one. I don't think I can use it though. I'm not very comfortable with the idea of flying on a small space." She laughs nervously.

"It's alright, Kishi," I say to her. "Hey; Doma!"

"Yes sir?" Doma answers my call.

"I need you to climb onto a platform and help me find some of the prisoners you were talking about a while ago!"

"Understood." He calls back at me loud enough so I can hear him. He climbs onto the platform and starts to fly it towards me. "Who's next, sir?"

"I want to look for the prisoner named Reiji Soyokaze. I remember you saying he's a powerful Wind Magic user from Caelum."

"Understood, sir." Doma takes me to see the prisoner.

* * *

Reiji Soyokaze is a young man with big spiky, brown hair and red eyes. He's also wearing the white prisoner clothes, but is wearing the shirt too (unlike Andreas).

"Reiji Soyokaze. I need to speak with you," I say.

He looks at me directly, and I see an arrogant and violent look in his eyes. "What do you want, you skinny little bastard?"

In my head, I conclude that he's an insufferable jerk. Hiding my irritation, I propose, "Would you like to get out of here and help me fight an enemy that I cannot by myself?"

Reiji scowls a smirk. "Listen, stick; I'm my own man. I don't need to help you at all. So get lost, or else I'll pull a number on you when I get out of here."

_I am so sick of people making fun of my physique…_ But I remain calm. "And how do you plan to do that? I don't see you planning an escape at the moment. And it looks to me you would be stuck here until the guards come back. Unless of course, something happened to them. Care to share what you know, Soyokaze?"

Reiji looks at me with a levelled look. "You're pretty perceptive, aren't you? Alright, I'll tell you. On one condition."

I open the cell with the staff, and the lacrima disintegrates. "Save it until I find the other prisoners I need. Go meet up with Andreas. I'll meet up with you later."

Reiji laughs. "You're not as bad as I assumed you to be, stick. I kind of like you."

"Call me names again and I can just as easily put you back into your cell as I let you out," I threaten coolly.

"Fine, fine," Reiji yields as he breaks the chains with a quick burst of black Wind Magic. He floats, and levitates down to where Andreas is.

_He's lucky I didn't bring up the fact that I know his wife was killed during their honeymoon. I wonder what would've happened if I did._ Contemplating on that, I fly to the next prisoner with Doma.

* * *

The next prisoner is a well-filled out woman with dark purple hair and deep blue eyes. She too is wearing the prisoner-whites. "Ryuko Seishikina."

Ryuko looks at me with a genuine face. "Yes? Who are you?"

"My name is Lelouch Lamperouge."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr Lamperouge," she greets with a formal bow of her head.

_Her manners are well kept. Interesting; seeing as how she was born in Sin and sent to prison in Fiore for mass-murder._ "Likewise; although this introduction would be better if we weren't interrupted by a cell wall."

She giggles. "You're quite funny, Mr Lamperouge."

"Call me Lelouch," I say with a smile.

"Okay. Lelouch, why do you want to release me from this prison? I notice you've been doing it with a couple of the other prisoners just then. Why is that?" Ryuko asks me.

"I have the feeling you know the answer, Ms Seishikina," I tell her.

She smiles. "You can call me Ryuko if you want."

"What do you think I'm doing with the other prisoners, Ryuko?"

Ryuko thinks for a moment. "I have a feeling you're recruiting strong wizards that the Magic Council locked away so you can fight a powerful enemy. Seeing as how no-one is interrupting us, I say the Magic Council is finished," she deduces.

"You're correct on both accounts," I confirm, not bothering to hide the truth. "What do you say?"

"I don't know, to be honest. I gladly stay here because I broke the law, but I'm always up for escaping this place."

"How about I give you a reason to help me? You can redeem yourself by helping me, and I will contact your country's government saying you served a reasonable sentence by fighting terrorists," I offer.

Ryuko stands up onto her feet and smiles. "I like the way you think. But I don't need to go back to Sin. I'm perfectly fine staying in Fiore. Aside from that; I'll take you up on your offer, Lelouch."

I smirk. "Wonderful," I say as I dispel the lacrima cell. "Need a hand?" I hold out mine.

"Why, thank you." She holds my hand and climbs onto the platform. I fly her down to Reiji and Andreas, and drop her off.

"Doma, who else is still here?" I ask the Chairman.

"Just one more person will help, sir," Doma replies.

"I see. So it looks like he's here too."

* * *

Jellal Fernandes. He's located nearby, so getting to him will be quick. I fly the platform over to his cell.

And I stay perfectly still.

Jellal looks exactly like Mystogan; blue hair and brown eyes, red tattoo and all. He looks like a complete wreck. I remember something from when I talked to Porlyusica about Mystogan's Earth Land equivalent. _So this is who she was talking about._

"Sir, are you okay?" Doma asks.

Escaping from my thoughts, I reply, "I'm fine. He just looks like someone I knew."

"Erza…" Jellal whispers.

"!" _Did he say 'Erza'? Why? Maybe I can…_ "Jellal Fernandes."

He doesn't move.

"Jellal… Can you hear me? My name is Lelouch Lamperouge. I used to be a member of Fairy Tail. I know Erza Scarlet."

"!" Jellal sits up abruptly. "You… You do?"

"That's right. If you help me, then I will tell you what happened to her."

Jellal looks at me in silence.

I lift the staff to remove the front of Jellal's cell. "Come on." I hold out my left hand. "I'll help you out."

Hesitantly, Jellal asks me, "Are you really a member of Fairy Tail?"

I stand back up straight and turn the platform around so my back is facing him. I take off my shirt and hang it around my elbows, revealing my mark. I hear Jellal gasp in shock. I turn back to face him. "Did that convince you?" I ask as I button the shirt again.

Jellal snaps out of his shock and says, "Y-Yeah…"

I hold out my left hand again. "Let me help you."

"Uh, but the chains-"

Using my magic, I concentrate on the chains and break them. The spell is called 'Shatter'; and I remember Tsumibito using the same thing on Mystogan's magic spell on Heaven Wolf Island (and my staves, no less). It's probably the same spell Tsumibito used to make that large explosion I felt on the island before I ran into him. "There," I say. "Now come on; I need to introduce you to everyone else as well."

"Will you really tell me what happened to Erza if I help you?" Jellal asks with concern.

"I assume you're a friend of hers. I will never lie unnecessarily to my friends' friends."

"!"

"Jellal… Will you help me for Erza's sake?" I ask.

Jellal smiles as he grips my hand. "Yes… I will."

* * *

With Kishi and Doma by my side, I address my new comrades. "Listen up, everyone. I released you all for a good reason. I need all of your cooperation for the upcoming battles against the Baram Alliance and the Black Knights. The Magic Council is finished, and I can't contact the Ten Wizard Saints due to difficult circumstances. So with no other solution in mind, I propose we form a new group."

"And what kind of group are you talking about?" Reiji asks me. "Because to be honest; I'm not too big on working as a team."

"This group will only consist of the strongest wizards at our current disposal. Now I assume you of you are able to lead small factions in an army or an organisation. Am I wrong?"

"What are you implying?" Andreas asks.

"Our group needs an army, and an army needs capable people to lead them. So!" I flick out my right hand and bend my fingers. "We shall be known as the _Great Wizard Generals_!"

"Generals?" Ryuko repeats.

"With the five of us together, we can lead an army and fight against the enemy properly. Without a general, an army is nothing more than a bunch of grown adults doing child's play. But with a general…" I raise my right hand to my right eye. "They can become the heart and soul of the codes they follow!"

"Alright then," says Reiji. "Who's in charge of the Black Knights and the Baram Alliance?"

"The Black Knights are former members of Fairy Tail and are led by a masked man named Zero."

"!" Jellal flinches. "So that's why…?"

"Yes. That is why I am an exile." I place my right hand down my side. "Although it's just my opinion, but I say that Fairy Tail does not exist while the Black Knights reign."

"And who leads the Baram Alliance?" Andreas asks.

"He was the leader of the Eight Kin of Purgatory in Grimoire Heart; one of the Baram Alliance's strongest dark guilds. His name is Tsumibito. He's extremely powerful and highly intelligent. I do not recommend taking him on by yourselves."

"Oh come on." Reiji rolls his red eyes. "Don't tell me you can't beat him yourself?"

"I will have you know that my magic is the only magic capable of defeating him," I say with venom, because I'm getting sick of his arrogant tendencies. "If you think you fare any better than I can already do, then go ahead and try."

"Maybe I will," Reiji taunts as he smirks and lifts his chin in the air. "I could be stronger than you, you know."

I scowl. "I will give you one chance to reconsider what you just said." _Looks like I'll have to use Geass on him after all._

"Alright, alright," Ryuko steps in between Reiji and me. "Stop your squabbling. Reiji…" She looks at him. "You should be grateful that Lelouch got you out of your cell in the first place; because not even you could've broken free on your own. And Lelouch…" She looks at me.

_Wait; what did I do?_

"You should've forced him to be quiet from the beginning. If you want to lead the group, you should have better control over those of us who don't like you. Now I for one am not one of those people; but you need to demand _respect_. If you don't, then none of us will listen to you."

I pause. _She has a point. Fine then; I'll think of a way to gain Reiji's respect. If he doesn't want to help me, then that's fine. I only needed an extra member just to be safe._ "You're right, Ryuko. Thank you." I look at Reiji, who seems pretty angry. "Reiji. If you don't want to help me, then that's your choice. But if that's the case, then I will deal with you personally. I won't think for a second of letting you go to the enemy and telling them about us. Is that understood?"

Reiji sighs in annoyance. "Fine. Whatever."

A loud bang comes from the ceiling at the top of the building, sending debris crashing down to the bottom, sending some of the prison cells down below. There are still people inside.

"!" is the reaction for most of us.

"Speaking of the enemy; that was what I was meant to tell you earlier. Tsumibito asked me to join his cause and take you down, using the men who killed the guards to communicate with me. Of course, I was considering telling you beforehand to see if you're worth being led by." Reiji levitates with Wind Magic and starts moving over to the open space. "I guess I was wrong. Pity." He chuckles.

"Damn you…!" I scowl. I summon my wings. "You made a _huge_ mistake, Soyokaze!" I go into a stance to fly at Reiji-

And don't move after seeing Andreas move so fast I couldn't follow and see him punch Reiji straight in the face with his right metallic arm. Reiji goes flying into a wall on the other side of the large room.

Reiji wrenches his head out of the wall. His face is bruised. "Fuck, man… You hit hard."

"What the hell kind of a reason is that to betray the person who released you!" Andreas yells at the Wind Magic user. "You're a disgrace! I'll have to knock some sense into you!" He smashes his fists together and summons four extra arms coming out of his shoulder blade area. He charges at Reiji.

"Lelouch, we should go." Ryuko walks up to me and places a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure Andreas can take care of Reiji by himself. We have to get out of here, or else we'll get trapped for good."

"Ryuko…" I accept what happened and nod. "Let's go. I know the way out."

* * *

I never expected to see what I did once we reached the front of the Magic Council Fiore branch building.

The entire area is a complete war zone. The land below us is completely black. The forests are dead. The sky is as black as night because of all the smoke. The base structure of the Magic Council Fiore branch building is almost fully demolished.

The Wizard Generals, Doma, Kishi and I are standing at the entrance of the bowl-like structure at the top of the branch. The structure itself is a majority of orange with green lining at the top of it. The building behind us is shaped like a hexagon, accompanied with two more behind that. We can hear the loud war cries of rebellious people.

_The Baram Alliance… _"They're here."

"What do we do, Lelouch?" Kishi asks me.

_I can come up with over one-hundred and fifty different battle solutions, but I don't know if any of them will work._ I look at Kishi. "Don't worry; I'll come up with something."

"Make it quick, Lelouch. We won't have a lot of time to plan," says Ryuko.

… _Alright; I got it._ "I have a plan." I step forward to face the chaos ahead of us. I turn to face my Generals. "Ryuko, Jellal. Can you give me an estimation of how powerful you both are?"

"Give us a number of enemies and I'll tell you," Ryuko asks.

"Judging by the size of the enemy and the amount of Generals we have, I say the minimum amount of enemies you have to defeat is at least one-third of the forces. That's about four-thousand dark guild members out of twelve-thousand; an approximate estimate."

Ryuko thinks about it. She answers, "I say in my current condition that if I go all out, I can take out at least… five-thousand of those guys."

"That makes you as strong as a Wizard Saint. Impressive." I turn to Jellal. "What about you, Jellal?"

"! I… I don't know…" Jellal looks apologetic. "I don't remember all of the magic I can use…"

_Don't remember? To what extent? It doesn't matter. Maybe I can… No… Would it work? Can I use my Geass on Jellal to make him remember how to use his magic? I should try it out, because we need him to fight this battle. Without Jellal; Ryuko and I are going to eventually get crushed. And Tsumibito will…_

"Ryuko; can you turn around please?" Kishi asks.

_What?_

"Huh?" Ryuko looks confused. "How come?"

"Trust me; Lelouch knows of a way to make Jellal remember. But I don't think Lelouch wants any of us to know how he does it." She looks at me and smiles. "Right?"

_I see… She's trying to help me out. Thanks for noticing, Kishi._ "She's right. I can't have Ryuko looking at me when I do this. But you as well, Kishi. I don't know if glasses will stop it."

"Got it," Kishi says as she takes Ryuko a few metres away and turns around.

Looking at Jellal, I walk up to him and speak to him with a low-key, gentle voice. "Listen closely. I have a power that can help you remember everything in your past."

Jellal nods nervously.

"Don't worry. It won't hurt, but I just want your consent. If you don't want me to make you remember, then I won't stop you. But all of us here need your help. If you can remember how to use all of your magic, then all of us have a chance of escaping with our lives." I pause so Jellal can consider his choices. "What do you say, Jellal Fernandes?"

Jellal smiles. "If I can remember everything that Erza and I used to do, then yes. I will accept your deal. I'll help you for as long as you want if this works."

I smile. "Excellent." I activate my Geass. "I, Lelouch Lamperouge, command you; Jellal Fernandes, _remember everything significant from your past_!"

* * *

Jellal's eyes widen as he becomes forced to follow my command. He stares at me blankly for about twenty seconds. That means rewiring the brain to remember things is incredibly difficult. But now that I think about it… _He couldn't remember much from his past, could he? So he's just like me… He also had to live with the difficulty of not remembering anything. But the difference is that he's probably able to remember little snippets of his past by looking, hearing or feeling things. I can't do that. I haven't been able to remember anything on my own. I had to have people tell me after I wake up from my sleep._

_Why?_

Jellal blinks, which surprises me. "I… I remember… I remember everything… The Tower of Heaven… The friends I hurt… _Everything_."

"Jellal, listen to me. Do you still remember how that came about?" I ask him while gripping his shoulders. I've had a suspicion that people can't remember what happened to them after I cast Geass onto them. But I haven't been able to confirm it.

"Not exactly. You said earlier you had a power that helps me remember. Is this what you were talking about? Because I don't remember it occurring…" Jellal looks confused.

_So I'm right… _"That's good to know." I try to hide the truth a little from Jellal, because he doesn't have to know about Geass just yet. That can come later. "Jellal… Do you still remember what you promised me; what you promised for the Great Wizard Generals?"

Jellal puts on the most magnificently pulled off smirk I have ever seen. "Yeah… I remember. So you wanted to know how many of those dark guild bastards I can take out. According to my own condition and the kind of magic I have, I can take out two-thirds of those guys without holding back."

"You're really that strong, huh? What kind of magic do you have?" I ask, while smiling at his confidence. _Oh yeah. He and I are going to get along just fine._

"Just wait and find out, friend." Jellal walks past me and I hear his footsteps stop. "By the way…" He sounds solemn. "How is… Erza? Is she alright?"

I wince at the thought. But I promised him earlier that I will tell him. "Erza was almost killed; by the dragon Acnologia. But don't worry. The island was converted into magic energy just in time. She'll be fine when the island returns to normal."

Jellal doesn't say a word for a long time. I turn around to see him still standing there. I notice his fists are tightly clenched to his palms. I don't know the relationship between the two of them, but I can assume that he cares for her very much. And I think… That she feels the same way for him.

"I see…" Jellal whispers. "Then you have my full cooperation, Lelouch." He turns around, and I sense a burning resolve in his eyes. "So what's the plan?"

"Don't worry. I planned everything out beforehand." I call out to the two women, "Kishi! Ryuko! Come back over here to discuss the next course of action!"

Kishi and Ryuko turn around and walk over to Jellal and me.

"So Jellal; do you remember how to use magic now?" Ryuko asks with a hint of anticipation.

"Oh don't worry about that," Jellal replies while giving Ryuko a devilish grin. "You and I will do just fine against the Alliance."

"Alright, listen up!" I gain everyone's attention. "Let's discuss what we're going to do."

* * *

**A few minutes later…**

Summoning my wings, I say the last words to my comrades, "Let's come out of this alive." I fly high and fast into the air, and bolt forward to the mountain range. _Everyone… Good luck. And Kishi, I hope-_

"So you came after all, Lelouch."

I recognise the voice instantly. I stop my flight and hold myself in mid-air with my wings. I turn around, and I see the one man who changed my life. Whether or not it was for the better, or for worse, I do not know; nor do I care.

I scowl. "Tsumibito." He's still wearing the same clothes from last time; except they're not wrecked anymore.

"Oh no!" Tsumibito says mockingly. "My own half is scowling me to death! Whatever will I do?"

"Stop with the theatrics you filthy scumbag. It's because of you that-"

"That I what? I destroyed the capital city? That I used my Geass to control all of the Magic Council members? That I recruited Reiji Soyokaze before you did and made him pretend to be on your side? Yes; I did all of that. And you know why? I'll give you three seconds to come up with an answer."

_I don't need three seconds to answer that. _"It's because you're an evil bastard who thinks the world can be controlled like a chess board, and the people on it are just pawns for your schemes."

Tsumibito laughs hysterically. "That is so true! But; I would add something else to that."

"Do I look like I care about what you think about yourself? I'm at war with you and Zero."

"If you have let me provide an answer, then I…" He disappears. "Would've told you where I was going to be next!"

_Behind me!_ I 'step' out of Tsumibito's striking range and fire a charged 'sphere' in his direction. The large black beam subsides and I don't see Tsumibito anywhere. _Where did you go, you bastard?_

"That was quite impressive."

"!" I turn to look behind me. _Just how fast is he?_

"You seem to have gotten pretty good at handling your magic, Lelouch. It looks like this will be more fun than I calculated." He smirks arrogantly.

"Shut up," I say coolly. _This is good; this is what I need._ I smile internally as I 'step' below Tsumibito, prepare my 'knives', and execute 'Black Judgement'.

Tsumibito counters with his own version of my attack. Except it's much faster than mine. Rushing past each other and keeping still in the air, both of us turn our heads and look at each other in the eyes.

Tsumibito's clothes tear into shreds, revealing most of his upper body. It's definitely obvious that he has more muscle development than me. There are a few cuts on his skin as well. I actually hurt him again.

But I didn't fare better.

The shirt I stole is torn up into tiny little pieces. I feel several lacerations –at least nine- that cut deeply into me. Blood spills all over me and my clothes. Too weak to hold myself properly, my wings disappear and I descend. _D-Damn it…!_ I fall, and I fall, and I fall…

Until a cold, metallic hand grabs my own and slows my descending. I look up with blurry eyes.

"Man, Lelouch… You look like hell." It's Andreas, and he's smirking.

"H-Hey… You made it…" I whisper.

"Don't worry. I'm taking you to Kishi right now." Andreas leaps back to where Kishi and Doma were left behind. _I can't believe my plan worked._ I feel the shockwaves Ryuko and Jellal are making from their battles.

_Kishi… Good job. You were very brave to go back and fill Andreas in. And telling me what you said during the discussion we had…_

* * *

**Earlier…**

"_I have something to say about Reiji," Kishi brought up._

"_What is it, Kishi?" I asked, clearly annoyed at the fact that Reiji betrayed me._

"_Reiji is still on our side."_

_I flinched. "What?"_

"_Is that true?" Jellal asked._

"_How do you know for sure?" Ryuko asked, wondering if what Kishi said was true._

_After finally remembering, I said to them, "Kishi has something called Detection Magic. She can detect if someone is lying or not. Judging by what she said, I say that Reiji is still a valuable member of the Wizard Generals."_

"_Not bad," Jellal complimented. "That's pretty handy."_

_Kishi blushed from the compliment. "Oh, it's nothing that special…"_

"_But it is," I told her. "What you told us is very helpful. We can use this knowledge to our advantage." I hugged her. "Thank you, Kishi."_

_Kishi hugged me back. "It's nothing, Lelouch."_

"_Okay, okay," Ryuko interrupted. "Your sweet talk is starting to taste like diabetes."_

_Jellal laughed pretty hard. "That's actually funny!"_

"_Alright," I said as I broke away from Kishi, smiling at the joke Ryuko made. But I went back to being serious. "I need you and Doma to go get Andreas and inform him of the news. Meanwhile; Jellal and Ryuko will take out most of the Baram Alliance's forces while I fight Tsumibito. When Andreas comes and gets me after I'm defeated, Jellal and Ryuko will occupy Tsumibito while I tell Reiji what to do next. And after I convince him to stay on our side, we'll defeat the last members of the Baram Alliance and finally stop Tsumibito. Meanwhile; Andreas will fight anyone else on Tsumibito's side while we do that."_

"_But Lelouch… Won't you…?" Kishi looked concerned._

"_If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow? I have to be involved in this as much as the rest of you."_

_Kishi stayed silent._

"_Don't worry. If I know Tsumibito, he will pull out every tactic in his disposal. I will need to be there while he does that. He and I have the same amount of strategic intelligence. So it's only logical for me to make sure he doesn't pull one over us."_

_Kishi's eyes glossed over. She nodded. "Okay. I believe in you."_

"_Me too," I replied as I stood away from the group while still looking at them. "Does everyone know what to do?"_

_They all nodded._

_I summoned my wings. "Let's come out of this alive."_

* * *

Andreas sets me down on the ground. We're back at where we discussed the plan. Kishi is close by to me, and Reiji is sitting down in front of the door. He's a total mess (courtesy of Andreas). Finding the strength to walk on my own, I look at Kishi; who is shocked at all of the cuts Tsumibito left on me. "It's okay," I say to her. "I'm still alive, right?"

Kishi bravely holds her composure and nods.

I nod back, and focus on Reiji. I walk up to him. "Reiji…"

"Look here; I didn't betray you because I wanted to work with Tsumibito. I think he's a dickhead, anyway. I only did it because-."

"Let me guess; you're a bastard who likes to make things complicated on purpose because it's fun."

Reiji remains speechless.

"Am I right?" I ask him.

Reiji closes his eyes and sighs. "Yeah…" Then he smiles at me. "You're right. So what's the punishment, chief?" He stands up and walks over to me.

"Nothing," I answer.

Reiji takes a step back. "Well now that's surprising. How come?"

"I'm willing to let this slide if you promise me that I have your full cooperation in this war. After it's all over, you can do as you please. Just don't try to kill me." I add the last comment as a joke.

Reiji catches onto the humour and laughs. "How about that? I say that's reasonable! So what's the plan, chief?"

"You and I, along with Andreas, are going to take out the final forces of the Baram Alliance while Jellal and Ryuko hold off Tsumibito. After that; the three of us will head over to Tsumibito's location and finish him off. Andreas, however, will try to hold off any of the last remaining forces."

Reiji nods. "Sounds like a plan. Let's go!" He claps his hands as he begins to float with magic.

"Right… Andreas; let's get going!" I order.

"Alright then." Andreas flexes his six arms.

"Just curious," Reiji adds in. "What kind of magic do you have, Andreas?"

"It's called Mantra Magic," says Andreas. "It's quite rare."

Reiji chuckles. "Yeah, that sounds about right for you; having rare magic while being a rare individual." He floats over the edge. "I'll see you down there." He waves and flies downward fast.

I look at Andreas. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up to you two in a second."

"Got it." Andreas runs to the edge and dives off.

I then look at Kishi. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been better," Kishi shrugs with a smile.

I chuckle. "Haven't we all?"

Kishi walks up to me and kisses me on the lips. We stay like this for a few seconds, until we break away. "Don't die, Lelouch."

I nod. "I won't. I have this, don't I?" I hold up my necklace in my fingers. "This necklace you gave me… I think of it as a beacon; a beacon to find my way back to you. No matter where you are, I will find you with this."

"You think that too?" Kishi is surprised. "I think that about my bracelet you got me! I also think of it as a way to find you!" She laughs in joy.

"Kishi," I say.

"Yes?"

I hold up my right index finger with my thumb pointing outwards, close the other fingers into a fist, and shoot it up into the air. "No matter where you are, I will always find you. If you can't see me, always remember that I will look for you. And that; i_s what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard_!" I summon my wings with such force that feathers fly around the area.

Kishi gasps in astonishment and fascination.

"Promise me Kishi… If I can't find your own beacon, then hold up the one for Fairy Tail." I drop my hand and sprint to the edge…

* * *

And I dive down rapidly. I wait for the right moment to spread my wings as I fall faster and faster down the edge of the tower, approaching the ground. I start to see some of the Baram Alliance members down below. _Now!_ I use magic to create the necessary force for impact on the ground and spread my wings immediately after I do so. The black shockwave is gigantic. It blasts away the members as far as twenty metres. That move is called 'Angel Dive'. I look down at my feet and I see a crater with a diameter of eight metres. I look up and I give the best grin I feel I can ever pull. "COME ON!"

I use the force of my wings to pull me forward at an incredible speed, charging through more of the dark guild members along the way; and charging my 'knives', I 'step' through thirty goons and cut them down. _Black Judgement._ I arc my wings so I fly upward and look down on the other goons. Now gliding, I charge two 'spheres' in both of my hands and release the large beams onto the enemy.

Satisfied, I continue to fly over to Tsumibito. I notice Reiji and Andreas (who I assume can't stay in the air on his own; which would explain why I don't see Jellal and Ryuko in the air at the moment as well) are there fighting my enemy, and that Tsumibito is struggling to keep them off of him. _Good… Now he won't be able to use Geass so easily._ I fly faster to reach them and I see Andreas and Reiji descend. _I have an idea…_ Pretending to be flying forward, I 'step' as I get close to Tsumibito and come up from above him. _Got you!_

Tsumibito doesn't react quick enough to stop my 'knife' coming down his back, cutting deep into the muscle. "! D-Damn it…!" He turns to see me. His eyes go blank as he falls like I did.

* * *

But my celebration is short-lived.

Two men are rushing over to Tsumibito's aid. There's a tall and masculine man with brown hair and a blue jacket, and a younger man who gives off the most deadly aura I have ever felt. He has black hair, and is wearing some old-looking robes.

I locate the Generals and land near them. "Status report."

Ryuko responds first. "Practically all of the Baram Alliance's forces have been dealt with."

Reiji speaks. "Only you and I are able to take out fighters in the air. Everyone else found it too difficult to keep afloat."

Andreas says, "And Tsumibito has two more individuals with him at the moment. Although none of us know who they are."

And Jellal finishes with, "And that's it so far."

"I see," I respond. "Do you all agree that we should keep cautious with those two?"

Jellal responds, "And that we should split up into groups of two while you stay as your own team?"

"Correct," I answer. "Any objections?"

They all shake their heads.

"Okay... Reiji and Ryuko, you two should go together. Jellal, Andreas; that leaves you two to make the last team. We should at least stick close together; I don't trust the dark-haired man that went to Tsumibito."

"Yeah…" Andreas nods in agreement. "I felt highly uneasy when I saw him. What kind of person can produce that aura?"

"Hmm…" _Tsumibito and Grimoire Heart were after something back on Heaven Wolf Island. But what were they looking for? I don't recall hearing them saying anything about their overall objective other than that they may have just gone there to take out Fairy Tail. I guess the only conclusion I can reach is that that man is whoever Tsumibito found on Heaven Wolf Island. Unless that person was…_

"I don't know what you're thinking about, but it looks like you reached a conclusion in something, haven't you?" a similar voice says behind me.

"!" I can't turn around. Something explodes behind my back and I fly forward into the ground.

"Ah crap; Lelouch!" Ryuko calls out.

"Tch! Damn it!" Jellal runs up to me and helps me up onto my side, so I can see who attacked me.

"Tsumibito…" says Reiji with a bit of worry in his voice.

"How are you still alive!" yells Andreas.

"Oh please," Tsumibito scowls. "Do you really think that attack would kill me? I'll admit; I didn't see it coming, and it hurts _a lot_. But be realistic here."

This is the first time I remember seeing Tsumibito angry. I guess I really pissed him off.

He continues. "Lelouch… I assume you were thinking about what Grimoire Heart's objective was back on Heaven Wolf Island."

I don't say anything.

Tsumibito closes his eyes. "I thought so. Well, one of the people who caught me after you struck me down used to be a member of Tartaros. And the other person…" He gives out a low chuckle. "Well… Why don't you find out for yourself?"

* * *

The two men Tsumibito was talking about just now emerge from the bushes. The man with the blue jacket is at Tsumibito's right; and the other person is to his left (strangely, at a distance). "This man here is Shokan," Tsumibito says as he motions to the man on the right. "And this person behind me…" He motions to his left. "…Is everyone's worst nightmare. All of you; say hello to _Zeref_."

"!" the Generals and I shudder in shock.

"W-What…?" Ryuko mutters.

"There's no way…" Andreas denies. "Zeref is-."

"Zeref should be dead…" Reiji isn't as shocked, but his voice sounds shaky.

Tsumibito keeps the scowl. He mustn't be in much of a laughing mood. "Zeref… _Kill them_."

"!" We shudder again.

"Yes, Master Tsumibito," Zeref says as he starts to walk towards us, summoning a strong black hurricane around his body.

_Wait a second… Tsumibito would've used Geass on him! _"Zeref…!" I activate my Geass as I look into his eyes. "_NEVER FOLLOW ANY OF TSUMIBITO'S ORDERS AGAIN_!"

Zeref stops advancing and stares at me blankly.

_Yes; it worked!_

"…" Zeref stays silent. "Die."

"!" _N-No…! But how!_

Zeref lifts his hands to the centre of his body and tucks his fingers into certain spots on his palms.

"EVERYONE; GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" I cry out, and they all do so-

* * *

And I get hit by the black beam-

But I block it with my 'shield' just in time. The force is monstrous. I don't know if I can hold the 'shield' up for much longer.

Zeref stops the attack as soon as my 'shield' gets broken. _What the…?_ Dropping to my knees, I see Zeref has skid across the ground six metres from where he was standing not long ago. To my left I see a masked man with cannons on his shoulders and a tulip-shaped mask.

"! Z-Zero…!"

"Tch…" Tsumibito growls. "I didn't expect you to show up at this point, Zero."

"Good," the modulated voice responds. "That was my intention from the beginning. I knew Lelouch would try to recruit strong people for his army so he can fight against us. However; I considered the possibility that you have done something to the Magic Council before Lelouch reached them. It was made more obvious when some of my spies returned to me saying the Magic Council has been forced out of their headquarters by the Baram Alliance. So I planned ahead of time by looking at all of the different locations of the Magic Council's buildings, and deciding which spot is the most likely place I would find the both of you." He chuckles. "I guess my plan worked; and now you're surrounded, Tsumibito." Zero looks at me. "And so are you, Lelouch."

I scowl. _Damn it… I should've expected Zero to show up and not just Tsumibito. How do I get out of this situation?_

Tsumibito stares at Zero for a long time. Surprisingly, he cracked a smile and starts to laugh. He tilts his head backwards and continues to laugh. After he finishes, he says to Zero, "Excellent job! You really thought this through, haven't you? Well guess what? So have I!" He 'steps' out of sight.

"Wait; come back here, you bastard!" I follow after him.

* * *

I'm too late.

I don't reach him in time.

He grabs her by the throat, and he…

Stabs her in the heart with his 'knife'…

Everything around me goes dead silent.

The world around me goes black. Completely, utterly, black.

* * *

I land near her and drop to my knees. I pick her up with my left arm. "K-K-Ki-Kishi…!"

Kishi slowly opens her eyes and looks at me. "Le… Lelouch…?" she whispers.

I don't say anything. I _can't_ say anything.

"Lelouch… Please…"

"_Live_….." She closes her eyes as she takes her last breath.

"!" Tears roll down my eyes at a rapid pace. "Kishi… Kishi… Kishi, wake up… Don't die… Don't die…! No… No…! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I scream to the sky as rain comes falling down.

And I cry more.

"Kishi… Kishi… I-I'm so-!" I sob. "I'm so sorry…! I'm sorry…! Oh Kishi; what have I done!"

Tsumibito laughs to himself as he 'steps' over to Chairman Doma and kills him too. "My, oh my; it looks like Lelouch was in love with someone. That's just perfect," he says mockingly. "That makes this all the more satisfying for me to watch."

"…" I stop crying, but still have tears on my face.

"TSUMIBITO!" yells Zero as he charges at the man who… "HOW DARE YOU KILL AN INNOCENT WOMAN? I WILL END YOU HERE!"

"GO AHEAD AND TRY, ZERO!" Tsumibito shoots back. "You're no way near strong enough to defeat the White Demon!"

The two clash with balls of their respective magic. Zero's arms are what they looked like when I fought him back in Magnolia. His shoulder cannons are missing, and he has the weird float system on his back; accompanied with the same metal armour.

I do nothing but stay where I am. I don't say anything. I don't move. I don't think. I'm nothing but an empty shell of a man; no variety, no character, no _life_. I stare at Kishi's lifeless body for what feels like an eternity.

The Great Wizard Generals arrive to my aid while Zero and Tsumibito fight each other.

"!" Ryuko (I assume) flinches at the sight of me and Kishi.

"Oh shit…" Reiji mutters.

"Lelouch…" Jellal walks up to me and kneels down to comfort me. "Listen to me. What happened here?"

I don't blame the Generals for not protecting Kishi. After all; even I couldn't catch up to him. But I stay silent.

"Lelouch…" Andreas sounds upset to see me like this. Not that I blame him. Everyone else seems the same.

We all stay like this for at least a minute.

Until Jellal speaks to me again. "What was her last wish?"

I'm able to say this at least. "Live…" I mutter.

"Live?" Jellal doesn't get it.

"She wanted me… To continue… Living…"

Jellal pauses. "Lelouch… Look at me," he asks me.

I slowly turn my head to face him-

And he punches me in the face; knocking me over into the puddle of rain beside me.

"J-Jellal…" I don't understand. _Why…?_

"Hey; what was that for, Jellal?" Reiji sounds agitated. "Give the guy a break; one of our comrades just got killed!"

"And do you think wallowing in pity solves anything!" Jellal argues back. "Look, Lelouch! If you don't do anything about this situation now, then Kishi's dying wish will have been for nothing; and Tsumibito will probably kill you when he isn't occupied!"

"!"

"If you blame yourself for her death, then work to redeem yourself by following through with her wish! Move forward into the future! You can't do anything if you choose to live in your past!"

"B-But I…"

"GOD-DAMN IT LELOUCH!" Jellal rushes over to me and kicks me in the head. As I struggle to get up from his hard hits, Jellal picks me up by the necklace. "If you give up now, then what was the point of doing everything you've already done, huh? WHAT WAS THE POINT!"

I stay speechless.

"Jellal, that's enough!" Ryuko walks up to him and places a hand on his shoulder.

He glares at her. "We put our trust in him when he released us, didn't we? Tell me this then; how can we place our trust in a leader who doesn't strive to get results? Isn't that what he planned to do in the beginning?" He looks at me. "Wasn't it!"

_Jellal… I…_

"Tch!" Jellal walks away. "I'm going to stop them myself. If you can't do it, then I will. After all; you gave me a purpose to follow through with when you asked for my assistance."

_Live… Follow through… The future… The future…_ "Wait."

Jellal turns around and looks at me.

I get up onto my feet. "Don't do anything until I come up with a plan."

Jellal smirks. "As you wish."

"But first, I…" I look over at Kishi's body. "I want to give her a burial after all of this. Please… She… Deserves that much."

"We will," Ryuko says to me.

I close my eyes. _Thank you. Thank you, all of you._ "Alright then…" I look at the Generals. "Andreas, Jellal, Ryuko: take care of Shokan. Reiji: you and I will take care of Zeref if you have a strong spell that can seal him temporarily. After we do that, go over to everyone else and help fight against the enemy if he is still standing. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" they all answer.

I throw my right hand outward. "Move out!"

* * *

And we do. With my thoughts going to Kishi, Reiji and I follow the rest of the Generals to where we last saw Tsumibito's allies.

None of us were expecting to see what we are right now.

The Black Knights are fighting against the enemy (except for Zeref; who appears to be unconscious, which says a lot about his well-being). _Perhaps Zeref is powerful in magic, but exhausted physically. Either that or Tsumibito didn't give him further orders other than to kill the Generals and me._

"Lelouch, what do we do?" Andreas asks me. "Do we help; or do we…?"

I say, "Wait until they lose. Reiji and I are still going to seal Zeref for the time being."

"Got it, chief," says Reiji as he flies further into the burnt-out forest. I follow him.

Hiding ourselves among the dead trees, Reiji and I try discussing the next course of action.

"So what are we gonna do, chief?" Reiji asks.

"Do you have a spell that can hold people captive?"

"Sort of. It's more like just keeping someone in a giant hurricane that can generate enough electricity inside it that the person would be rendered unable to move." He smirks. "You reckon that'll work?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Zeref is supposed to be the most powerful dark wizard in history."

"Well, I'm no slacker myself if I do say so."

"Joking aside," I point out. "If we perhaps do a Unison Raid and you use that technique, then it might work. My magic is only told in legends. With that in mind, we can increase the power of your spell."

"Good idea, chief." He smiles at me.

I nod and smile as well. _He's not as bad as I thought._

"One question," says Reiji.

"What is it?"

"How do we do a Unison Raid?"

* * *

The air around us begins to mock us. The silence settles in as we stare at each other.

"…"

"..."

I finally say, "… Are you kidding?"

"Nope."

"You don't know how to use a Unison Raid?"

"Yup; that sums it up."

"Well that's just perfect," I exasperate as I stand up.

"What's the problem?"

"Because I don't know how to use it either!"

There's that wind again.

"…"

"…"

"What do you think we should do then?" Reiji asks.

I sigh. "Just use the spell and I'll add something to it. That's the best we can do, I guess." I rub the bridge of my nose. I don't even notice that I'm freezing from the rain. It must be my magic, because normal people can't stay in the rain for so long without a shirt on (along with cuts).

"Looks like you haven't planned for this, have you?" Reiji mocks.

"Shut up," I snap back.

Reiji chuckles. "Don't worry about it so much. If this works, we can finish off Tsumibito afterwards." He charges his wind magic, and I see it turn black instead of a clear white.

_What power… So this is why he was locked up. His magic is very storng, but it feels… Sad._

"This can take a while to charge up, Lelouch. I would try thinking up of what you're going to do."

"Right. I think I have something in mind." I charge my magic around me. "Reiji, I'm going to transfer my magic power over to you."

"Got it," he says as the wind intensifies.

I slowly send my magic power that I charged up over to Reiji's location. The winds absorb my magic, and it changes the black to an even greater shade of the same colour. _So this is what a Unison Raid is like. Excellent. With this, Zeref might actually stay sealed for a while._

A presence appears behind me. "A Unison Raid, huh? I must admit this is my first time seeing one."

"!" I turn around to a punch to my face, sending me flying to my left side. I land on my side, away from Reiji. I have a severe headache, and my right cheek feels hot. That attack is going to leave a bruise.

Reiji stops his spell and prepares to fight the man who smashed my head in (not literally, but it feels like it). "You're Shokan, huh?"

"So what if I am? My orders are to stop anyone who would be a problem to him." Shokan has a stoic look on his face. "Just like I did with the Black Knights."

"!" I look through the burnt trees to where the Black Knights had their battle with this man. I can't see any of them standing up. I scowl as I get up onto my feet-

But I fall back down onto my backside. My head feels heavy and dizzy. _Damn it, I've lost too much blood…_

"Hey, chief; you okay?" Reiji calls out as I see Andreas, Jellal and Ryuko appear.

I can't respond. I feel too weak. I feel…

* * *

"_Lelouch!" a woman's voice calls out to me. "You have to keep fighting, Lelouch! Live!"_

* * *

My eyes shoot open as my magic power escalates to a new height, shocking both my Generals and Tsumibito's ally. I get up onto my feet. "Kishi… I will… I WILL LIVE!" I 'step' in front of the man who punched me (who is still fighting my Generals), and with a charged 'sphere', I blast him straight in the face. The force I put behind my attack sends him flying into the air. My wings have been summoned, and black aura is surrounding my body. I feel as good as new; almost like I haven't been injured at all.

I scan my allies, who are gobsmacked. I then settle on looking at Reiji. "Start the spell up again. I assume it's still charged."

Reiji stands still.

"Reiji? Did you hear me? Let's finish the Unison Raid."

"Lelouch…" Ryuko is almost speechless. "That was… I didn't even see you…!"

"That magic is out of this world," says Andreas, who's equally as shocked as everyone else.

"Reiji, start the spell up again," I order as I look at Jellal's stunned face.

"O-Oh," Reiji snaps out of his daze. "R-Right." He charges the spell again. Without doing anything, my magic becomes absorbed on its own.

"Andreas, Ryuko, Jellal," I address them as I look at them. "Get behind us so you don't possibly get caught in this attack."

They nod and jump a good distance behind Reiji and me.

"Ready?" I ask Reiji.

"Yeah… Let's do it."

"Unison…" We say simultaneously. "RAID!"

Reiji moves the hurricane around him over to Zeref at blinding speed. It rips through the earth surrounding him. The spell stops over him.

The hurricane is as black as night. Electricity is cackling like crazy. Surprisingly, the spell doesn't hit anything else.

"Alright then…" I look at Reiji. "Andreas, Jellal Ryuko: come over here."

They do so.

"Take care of Shokan if he starts to move again," I say to them. "Understood?"

"Got it, chief," says Reiji.

"So… That magic you have…" Ryuko speaks up.

"What about it?"

"What exactly is it? It's incredibly powerful," she finishes.

I blink. "It's called Black Angel Magic. It's a legendary magic only obtainable by overcoming your previous life's sins."

"I see," Ryuko says in response.

Andreas adds, "So you redeemed yourself?"

"Yes. But I don't know exactly what I did in my past."

"Wait, you don't remember anything?" Reiji's surprised.

"Correct. I only know small pieces of information about my identity after certain people pointed out I was sleep-talking," I respond.

The others stay silent.

_I think I know what they're thinking about._ "Don't concern yourselves with me just yet. We still have a battle to win. We can talk about it after we win."

They nod.

I flap my wings to lift myself off the ground. "Stay alive. If Zeref breaks out of that spell, then find me and retreat. I will be where Zero and Tsumibito are fighting." With that, I fly off.

I hear Jellal call out, "Hey Lelouch; wait!"

* * *

But I ignore his call. I search for my alter egos. I stop above the branch building. I look to my left and try sensing their presence as lightning cracks.

Nothing.

I look to my right.

Nothing.

_Perhaps they're above me._ Lightning cracks as I look up-

And see someone falling downwards towards me. I move out of the way, and I catch a glimpse of who it is.

"!" _No way…! That's-_

I look back up and I see Zero flying downwards to Tsumibito. And I follow suit. Getting close enough to Zero, I chuck a 'sphere' at him. He dodges. He chucks his own magic ball at me, and I 'step' to the other side. I 'step' again to execute Black Judgement, which Zero blocks with a pink shield made up of hexagons.

_A shield?_

Zero dives down faster, and disappears before he lands into the forest. I arc my wings to make myself glide upward. I turn around and see Tsumibito charging towards me with a 'sphere' in hand. I block with my 'shield'. I 'step' again and use Black Judgement. But Tsumibito blocked it with his own white 'shield'.

Zero jumps in between us and aims his arms at the both of us, firing three shots of his magic in our directions.

We both 'step' out of range. I charge two 'spheres' and aim at Tsumibito and Zero; then I fire the large beams of my magic. Zero blocks with his shield, and Tsumibito 'steps' out of range and fires his own charged 'sphere' at me; which I dodge, and 'step' over to Zero. I swing my 'knife' at him, but he dodges with ease.

He grabs my wrist and tries to punch me in the head, but Tsumibito grabs his hand with his right, and with a 'knife' in his left hand, slices down Zero's armour, cutting through his cape and a bit of his float system.

"Damn it!" Zero activates his shield to push the both of us back. "I must admit, Lelouch… I didn't expect you to join in the battle as fast as you did. And it looks like your power increased."

"You seem perfectly fine handling me," I say back. I look at Tsumibito. I don't say anything to him; there's no need to.

"…" Tsumibito smirks. "What are you staring at me for? Don't tell me you're still mad at what I did to that girl?"

I scowl.

Tsumibito continues. "To be honest; I find it hilarious you don't feel bad about getting the Magic Council Chairman killed too. It's almost like…" Tsumibito 'step's behind me and whispers in my ear. "…You're becoming like me."

_That's it; you're dead!_ I charge my magic to its peak, making Tsumibito retreat backwards.

Zero gasps. "I-Impossible…! Your magic power… It's going beyond my calculations…! Lelouch; how is it you're becoming so strong!"

I hear Tsumibito chuckle quietly, and then escalate the chuckle into a maniacal laughter. "This is perfect! This is what I've been waiting for! Lelouch; you finally awakened your true strength! And now I…"

Tsumibito loses his voice as he sees a black sword start to materialise in my right hand.

"!" Zero takes a step back in the air. "That sword…! Tsumibito; that sword is the same as the one I killed you with for the Zero Requiem!"

I turn around and look at Tsumibito, who is completely terrified.

"Tha-That technique… Are you using…?"

"Tsumibito," I say to him. "Ever since I got here in Magnolia, you have been planning to take me down with as many other people as possible. You're a tyrant; a monster." I look at the masked man and say, "Zero. You planned on taking Fairy Tail under your command since the Heaven Wolf Island incident, and used them against me. You're an opportunist, and a symbol. So I'm sure…" I look back at Tsumibito. "That you know there's nothing under that mask, don't you?"

Tsumibito flinches.

The magic surrounding my body is concentrated into the sword I'm holding, solidifying the blade into a black diamond colour. "I will cut the both of you down, and _end this conflict_." I 'step' behind Zero and decapitate him, swing down on and then across his float system with the sword in my hand. I then finish with a stab to his back, piercing his armour and coming out of his stomach.

"!" Zero falls to the forest as I pull out my sword. "So fast… But, how…?"

Tsumibito growls. "Fine; I'll end this myself!" He summons a white sword that looks exactly like mine. "Let's finish this, Lelouch! I will show you the _true_ power of the White Demon!"

We charge at each other, drawing our swords back.

"TSUMIBITO!"

"LELOUUUUUUCCHHH!"

_SLASH!_

End of Chapter 11

**(A/N: I didn't want to do notes at the end, but I have no choice in the matter. And this was **_**long**_**… Over 11,000 words.**

**Natsu: So what's up now? That battle was pretty tense!**

**E.E.: Yes. Yes, it was. But anyway people, I need you all to go to my bio page and vote in the poll I created. You'll understand what it's about if you look at it.**

**Now I know you all probably hate me for killing off Kishi. The thing is; I had no choice in the matter. I didn't intend for her to die at first; but again, the plot needs to advance, and characterisation of a certain character is definitely necessary. But you must admit; it made for a crowning moment of awesome later, didn't it?**

**Natsu: What's that?**

**E.E.: It's basically a character's moment of awesome that people easily recognise. How they do it depends on the character. So you, Natsu, have moments of awesome during your battles.**

**Natsu: Alright! Where'd you learn that term anyway?**

**E.E.: Trust me; you do **_**not **_**want to know. It will ruin your life. Forever…**

**Natsu: Alright then. My character would be out of whack if I do something strange in your reality.**

**E.E.: That's good, Natsu. You figured out how a story works. Well done!**

**So anyway, fans; look forward to the next chapter, and don't forget to vote!)**


	12. Turn Back the Magic Clock Battle One

Chapter 12: Turn Back the Magic Clock – Battle One

**(A/N: Thank you all for voting! The poll has closed at the time this chapter was posted! Now I'm going to tell you all something… I'm going to do a bit of back-tracking. That's right; I'm turning back the time for the flashbacks. It's similar to **_**Bleach's**__**Turn Back the Pendulum**_** arc, except it's just the battles and dialogue during that time; not too much focus on the back stories.**

**This first chapter is the one you all voted for the most, then it will be the next chapter you voted for until I finish capturing all of the battles; all of which will be released as soon as I can get them done. Please note a lot of these chapters won't be at least over 3,000 words, so I may choose to write an omake or two; some of which might be FC canon. Enjoy!)**

**I do not own Code Geass, Fairy Tail, or the original design of the expies. Draconichero Okayed my title a long while ago.**

* * *

The time is the 12th of March, X 788; around three years after the legendary battle of the Baram Alliance, the Black Knights and the Great Wizard Generals. But what actually occurred on that day? Time has lost most of these battles, but now they are starting to resurface for one last preview.

These are the lost chapters about the battles that the men and women of the three armies fought.

* * *

**March 10, X 785 – Zero vs. Tsumibito**

Tsumibito has just killed Kishi Barasono, and Zero, in a rage of fury, commenced a battle with the leader of the Baram Alliance. Lelouch Lamperouge doesn't move from the impact Zero and Tsumibito made from their respective ranged attacks. Deciding to take the battle to a different location, the two personas of tyranny and revolution head towards the centre of the storm, where lightning cracks loudest, and where rain hits hardest as they burst from the overload of water inside the black watery mist known as clouds.

Tsumibito's white wings have been summoned. His upper body clothing has been torn to shreds from an earlier encounter with Lelouch. His back was stinging from said person using an 'Angel Knife' on him. He looked very pleased with how he made 'God' an emotional wreck, by killing his love interest, Kishi.

Zero was unharmed at this point. He's already summoned his mechanical float system, which looks like it belonged to a certain 6-metre robot with something called Hadron Cannons on its shoulders. His hands and forearms have been coated with what looks like the arms of a shape-shifting robot. He has solid black armour covering his entire body.

Tsumibito said to Zero, "Well, well, well… Where have I seen this before?"

"That's in the past, Tsumibito," Zero shot back. "Right now all I want to do to you is tear you apart for killing an innocent girl." The hate in Zero's voice was so thick you could run you hand through it.

"Oh? Is our past a sensitive spot for you? I guess it makes sense, seeing as how you and I-."

"SHUT UP!" Zero charged forward at Tsumibito with blue lightning in his right hand, and grabbed Tsumibito's face, then proceeded to move forward into the storm clouds at blinding speed, where lightning was striking hard.

Tsumibito was growling from the agonising pain Zero was inflicting. _This is…_ He thought to himself. _This is what I used on Lelouch to steal his Geass power…!_

"Looks familiar, doesn't it?" Zero said to Tsumibito. "It's a good thing you and I can use the same technique to steal Geass away." He continued to run Tsumibito through the clouds, having lightning striking Tsumibito as he ventured through the endless stream of black clouds, and dampening the Baram Alliance leader's hair from the rain; all the while stealing Tsumibito's Geass.

Tsumibito 'stepped' out of Zero's grasp, and reappeared behind the masked man, then performed 'White Judgement'; a similar move that Lelouch used earlier.

But Zero anticipated this, and blocked Tsumibito with his pink energy shield (which also resembled a robot's defence system). Deescalating to get underneath Tsumibito, Zero dashed behind him, Hadron Cannons at the ready, and fired two large beams of powerful magic at his enemy.

Tsumibito 'stepped' out of the way and charged a 'sphere' in his left hand, then fired it at Zero. The white beam caught Zero off-guard, resulting in him having to take the full blast. With a 'knife' in his right hand at the ready, Tsumibito called out, "That shield of yours is interesting. It comes directly from the Shinkiro; as do your arms when they're not transformed into the Gawain's Hadron Cannons. Zero, your magic merely copies our Knightmare Frames' capabilities. You don't have Black Angel Magic or White Demon Magic. You have something else." He smirked. "Care to tell?"

Zero was nowhere in sight. He approached Tsumibito from behind and used his mechanical fingers' special function: they could extend from the hands. He used his fingers to wrap Tsumibito in place.

"What the-?" Tsumibito wasn't expecting that.

"That's not all I can do," said Zero. "Remember what the Gawain could do with its fingers? They act like Slash Harkens; which is exactly what I just did to you, using my Knightmare Magic."

"Tch…" Tsumibito couldn't believe it. How could he forget that? Oh well; it's not like he can't break free. "Impressive, Zero." He turned to face the masked revolutionary with a smirk. "I expect nothing less from someone who has the same high intellect as I."

Zero asked, "Tell me: why did you kill that girl? What were you trying to accomplish by killing her?"

_Like I'm going to tell you that,_ Tsumibito thought. He lied by saying, "Because I enjoy watching my enemy squirm. After all, that's the kind of person I am, right?"

"Oh I see. You wanted to make Lelouch stronger, didn't you?"

Tsumibito scowled.

Zero chuckled. "You still underestimate me, even now?" He retracted his fingers so Tsumibito was close to him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Tsumibito 'stepped' out of Zero's grasp. Standing in front of Zero's line of sight at a distance, he threw his hands to his right side close together, and then drew them apart, simultaneously summoning a cylindrical burst of white wind. "I didn't." Clasping his hands together (and therefore compressing the wind he created) he let his right hand chuck the wind at Zero while returning his left hand to his side. The wind expanded into a titanic size, capturing the storm clouds in its radius.

"!" Zero dashed for it. There was no way he was going to get caught in this hurricane. _Damn it! That hurricane is as powerful as a Class-5!_ He steered left to try get behind the stalking mass of powerful wind. As he looked at it, he realised it's only heading in a linear direction. _So it can't follow me._

"Nice try, Zero!" Tsumibito 'stepped' in front of his attack and threw his left arm across his body. The hurricane steered towards Zero.

"Crap!" Zero had to think of something fast. If he doesn't, the hurricane would tear him apart. So he formulated a plan as quickly as he could.

Satisfied with what he had in mind, Zero charged straight towards the hurricane.

_What the hell is he doing?_ Tsumibito thought to himself with a confused look on his face. _Wasn't he trying to avoid my Arch Demon Hurricane all this time?_ Tsumibito was referring to his attack that he unleashed. Lelouch has his own version as well.

Zero summoned his shield and collided with the powerful torrent of wind. Sparks were flying at an intense rate. _Just a little more…!_ Zero pressed on. Finally breaking through the hurricane, he flied as fast as he could so as to not get caught up in the wind's direction, and came out of the other side with his Hadron Cannons ready to fire. He disengaged his shield.

_Predictable,_ Tsumibito mused as he held his hands in front of him, with charged 'spheres' in his hands.

And he fired as Zero did. The two gigantic beams fought for dominance; the winner of the standoff changing from one to the other. Eventually, Zero's began to overpower Tsumibito's.

"What!" Tsumibito's eyes widened. _Can Zero really be this strong?_

"Take this!" Zero pushed one last time, and Tsumibito got caught in the blast. The blast was so strong that it tore through the skies, leaving a large hole that revealed the night sky.

The beam subsided. Tsumibito was missing. Zero knew where he was.

Tsumibito appeared again, with blood dripping down his forehead, and went to stab Zero with his 'knife'. Zero parried with his shield, and fired his Hadron Cannons again (at a much smaller level of strength). Tsumibito blocked with his shield surrounding his right arm, and 'stepped' behind the masked man again. He charged another 'sphere' and blew off Zero's mask, sending it flying.

He 'stepped' again and grabbed the mask. He looked at it slowly. "I must say, you've become quite annoying…" He stared at Zero with a fierce glare. "…Zero."

Zero, with black smoke seeping from his neck dashed in front of Tsumibito and grabbed his face again, using the same electricity as when they began. "Good." He intensified the electricity as a small pink glow began to illuminate the base of his neck. Raising his left hand into the sky, lightning struck the two men.

Both of them groaned in agony. Zero lowered his left hand to grab his mask from Tsumibito. "With this, the playing field will be evened out."

Tsumibito couldn't break free from Zero's grip, as the lightning from both him and the sky was too much to bear. He rapidly felt his Geass disappear from his right eye. _D-Damn it… Come on. Don't let it end here. You have a goal to accomplish, don't you? Are you going to go through with it or not? Well?_ "You bastard…" Tsumibito uttered as his right eye lost its Geass.

_That should be enough, _Zero thought as he let go of Tsumibito.

Tsumibito barely held himself up with his wings. "You… What are you doing?" he asked with his head held low. "Weren't you going to take it all from me? Why did you leave me with half of my Geass power left?"

"Because unlike you, I don't need all of someone else's power to complete my future plans. I can rely on my own power too. The Geass power from your right eye is more than enough for me."

Tsumibito lightly chuckled. "I see. You're trying to be different from me, aren't you?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Tsumibito lifted his head up. "Of course it is. I understand your reason for doing so completely. After all, even though we're not the same person, we both still came from Lelouch. Isn't that right?"

Zero chuckled as well. "That depends on what's true and what's not."

Suddenly, the two men felt a large surge of magic coming from below them approaching. Tsumibito looked down towards the source. He smiled devilishly. "Looks like he did it."

Zero dashed in front of Tsumibito with his left hand above his head. "Don't lose focus, Tsumibito."

"!" Tsumibito couldn't react fast enough as Zero whacked Tsumibito on the head with his fist, sending him down to where Lelouch awaited them both.

"It's time to end this fight for good." Zero followed suit, passing Lelouch, who followed him as well.

The three of these men's histories went on from there.

End of Chapter 12

**(A/N: And there you have it. That's what happened with Zero and Tsumibito. If you have questions about their dialogue, I won't tell you anything. Sorry. **

**But seeing as how this fight didn't last long, I'm going to present you with my first omake. Enjoy the humour. I recommend starting this off with Code Geass' "Stray Cat". It suits it.)**

* * *

Omake: Chapter 11 AU - Lelouch's Best Plan in the Whole Fucking History of the Planet **(NOTE: this can never happen in canon)**

When Ryuko Seishikina asked Lelouch to come up with a plan to combat the Baram Alliance, it wasn't too hard to think about for someone like him. After all, he was a Magnificent Bastard; he always had something in mind. Until he just realised something.

He didn't know what the fuck to do.

All of his brilliant scheming, all of his amazing declarations, all of his awesomeness; all of it is just _gone_. Having memory loss is a bitch.

"…" Lelouch figured he might as well say it. "I have no idea what to do."

Remember that mocking wind from the actual chapter 11? Well, it decided to appear again, while everyone there turned into chibi versions of themselves.

In chibi form, Ryuko asked with a budget cut in animation of shaking her fist in the air, "You can't be serious! Aren't you the master of strategy?"

Lelouch, also still in chibi form, and _also_ shaking his fist in the air with a budget cut initiated, said to the Saeko Busujima expy, "Shut up! Memory loss is serious business!"

"Wait a second," a chibi form of Andreas (aka. Asura the Destructor expy) began to point out, with a cut in animation to his mouth. "You weren't meant to say you lost your memory until you kick Shokan's arse later on in the chapter!"

"Pipe down," Reiji Soyokaze, the expy of Jerk with a Heart of Gold Kazuma Yagami, told everyone with the same amount of cut in his animation. "This is an omake; we can do whatever the fuck we want here."

"Um, Reiji?" Kishi muttered in chibi form, and also had (yeah, you get the idea). "Where are your clothes? And why are you and Andreas here? Weren't you fighting back inside?"

Indeed, Reiji was copying Gray. And he was with Andreas, not fighting him like we'll see him do in a few chapters. "See what I mean?" he said with a troll face pasted over his own face.

Lelouch felt a migraine coming along. "Alright… What do we do now?"

Exiting chibi form, everyone answered simultaneously, "Who knows?" Except for Jellal. For some reason he stayed quiet.

_I'm only just starting to wonder why I chose these people to be my Generals in the first place._ Lelouch then had a thought. If this is an omake, then… "I have a plan!" he declared epically.

"Oh boy, here we go." Reiji's troll face was still pasted.

"Trust me on this one. Now, let me ask you all something: this is the one place where we can access the real world and not get destroyed by the power of story-telling, right?"

"Yes," everyone answered.

"So taking the laws of physics into account, we can still do what we want, right?"

"Yes," they answered again, not seeing his point (and noting that physics is unrelated at the moment).

"Then that means we have a trump card!" Lelouch posed in the hammiest way he could think of, feeling invigorated by the sensation of being awesome.

"Get to the point already," everyone told him in perfect unison.

"What's the most epic and amazing thing the real world can offer?" Lelouch asked.

Reiji: "Porn."

Ryuko: "Zombies."

Andreas: "Being a MAN!" It's acceptable for him to say as such, seeing as how Elfman and he share the same Japanese seiyuu.

Doma: "Master Jiraya."

Everyone looked at him funny.

Doma looked at them in confusion. "…" Then he said, "What?"

Kishi: "I'm going to say you're the best thing real life could offer, Lelouch."

"CLOSE, but not quite." Lelouch smirked. "For you see, there is something even more amazing than I!"

Everyone gasped as the background music went, 'Dun-dun-Duuuuuuun'.

"You don't mean…!" Andreas went in chibi form again, for no particular reason.

"Yes… I mean-!"

* * *

[Okay, nows a good time to go to Youtube and look up the following song: "Exodus" by Two Steps from Hell. Just hurry up and do it. I don't care if you don't do that when you're reading, you're going to do it. And you'll like it. Now come on: Lelouch and the others are waiting for you.

…

You done? Okay, good.]

* * *

Lelouch, standing underneath the lone spotlight, faced the audience with his head held low. He let the music drag on. But he knew… Oh, did he know. He was going to conduct this wicked music himself. He was going to use this to defeat Tsumibito and Zero (who shouldn't be there yet). With this!

Turning on a dime to face what was behind him, the spotlight on Lelouch grew to show a giant orchestra behind him this whole time. He threw out his right hand at a 45-degree angle, ready to lead these sons of bitches to a new height of awesome. He raised it to the beat, and slowly smirked to himself. _This will be fun._ He threw his right arm across his body, starting the piano.

The piano man (who for no really logical reason is Reiji) slowly swayed his body to the perfect rhythm he fell into with his fingers on the keys. The drummer was revealed to be Andreas (seemed logical enough) very accurately hitting the drum set he was given by… …someone. Lelouch moved his left hand to the beat as well. He let the music take his body. He didn't need to control his body to make hammy poses and give off magnificent smirks. He was just that awesome. After all, he's Lelouch fucking-Lamperouge. He nodded for the rest of the instrument players to get ready. _Yes… This is what it feels like to realise your victory. This is how you do it… Always- Always, use Two Steps from Hell!_ He brought his feet together and flung his arms straight into the air as the rest of the orchestra played to the song, feeling the same aura Lelouch was feeling as they did so.

The drums beat again.

Lelouch was enjoying this. He was flinging his fingers, his arms, and his upper body to the incredible beat of the music, then moving slowly to the beat of the drum as it played solo, and then picked up the pace as the orchestra came back. He stopped at a pose for the hand-thing Fairy Tail does, looking awesome as he did so. He brought his arm down slowly, savouring the instruments' sound as they fall back to let Andreas do his thing.

_Now then… It's high time I summon the choir._ Lelouch smirked as he knew what was coming next. Because you know, he listened to this shit whenever he's off-page (not off-screen). _Here it comes…!_ He threw his right hand out in front of him with a brilliant smirk.

And the choir sang.

Oh, how amazing it felt to hear everyone singing on key and in time with each other. And the drums… God, it was awesome. Lelouch knew that he had this in the bag. Tsumibito wasn't going to win, because Lelouch had Two Steps from Hell on his side. He can listen to all of his Hans Zimmer or Danny Elfman (no, not _that_ Elfman) or his… His John Williams. Two Steps from Hell is the shits. End of story.

Things went on like this for another minute and twenty seconds. Tsumibito could only gape at Lelouch. How did he know that this music was his one and only weakness? He was supposed to have no weakness in this story, because he was a motherfucking _Lelouch _expy for Christ's sake. He turned to Zeref and Shokan, who were both cradling on the ground with their thumbs in their mouths. "Well, I have three options here: I can kill Lelouch now and stop his awesomeness, I can side with Zero and conquer Fiore that way, or I can get crushed by a gigantic toy robot that makes me look like an ant and then suck my thumb while in a foetal position after it scrapes me off its foot-."

Just as he said that, a gigantic robot stepped on top of him, squashing him into the ground. The robot, realising he stood on something, went to a nearby (burn-out) tree, and scraped Tsumibito off its gigantic foot. Being careful to avoid stepping on Zeref and Shokan, he continued to make his way to the mountains. For no. Fucking. Reason.

"Foetal position it is, then," said Tsumibito as he began whimpering and sucking on his (flat) thumb.

End of Omake


	13. Turn Back the Magic Clock Battle Two

Chapter 13: Turn Back the Magic Clock – Battle Two

**(A/N: So how was the first chapter of **_**Turn Back the Magic Clock**_**? Didn't like it? Too bad. I'm going through with this. But if you did like it, then I must say thank you for taking the time needed to read everything up until now.**

**The intro will be the same, just to let you know. So please enjoy this new chapter.)**

**I do not own Code Geass, Fairy Tail, or the original design of the expies. Draconichero Okayed my title a long while ago.**

* * *

The time is the 12th of March, X 788; around three years after the legendary battle of the Baram Alliance, the Black Knights and the Great Wizard Generals. But what actually occurred on that day? Time has lost most of these battles, but now they are starting to resurface for one last preview.

These are the lost chapters about the battles that the men and women of the three armies fought.

* * *

**March 10, X 785 – Shokan vs. Black Knights (Fairy Tail)**

Shokan and Zeref both watched as Tsumibito and Lelouch chased each other to the Magic Council's Fiore Branch building. They didn't know what exactly Tsumibito meant by 'being prepared' when Zero showed up, but they assumed it had something to do with one of Lelouch's allies. Shokan looked at Zero as the main members of the Black Knights emerged from behind him.

_What did Tsumibito mean by being prepared as well?_ Zero pondered this._ Does it have to do with Lelouch? But then what exactly would he have had in mind?_

Just then, a blood-curdling 'no' was heard from Zero's position. It was Lelouch.

_Tch… Damn it, I have to get there._ "Black Knights, hear my order: you are to take care of the Baram Alliance members Shokan and Zeref over there while I see what Tsumibito has just done."

"What? That's just ridiculous!" It was Alzack, the Guns Magic user, who called out the absurdity of Zero's order. He and the other Black Knight members were wearing their official uniforms with the visors over their eyes, so as to disguise themselves. "You expect us to take on _Zeref_ while you go and see what happened to that bastard Mystogan?"

"He's right!" Bisca, who was beside Alzack, agreed with her partner. "We can't defeat Zeref! He's the most powerful dark wizard in history!"

"Have you gone mad?" Wakabe exclaimed with his pipe in his mouth.

"_Do as you're told_." Zero wasn't up for listening to his subordinates. Sure, he was going against his beliefs on subordinates and leader, but if he didn't get to Tsumibito now, then something very bad would happen. After all, he can't trust the very incarnation of fear and tyranny to be alone; it was his mission to stop the bastard.

"Zero, think clearly here," said Macao. "We can't do this by ourselves-."

Zero ignored him. He flew to see what happened to Lelouch and Tsumibito. There he found the dead body of Kishi Barasono being cradled in Lelouch's arms. _Tsumibito, you bastard!_ He made a mad dash to kill Tsumibito. Their battle has been pre-determined.

Meanwhile, the Black Knights and Shokan and Zeref were still standing where they were. The Black Knights were stumped. How were they supposed to fight the most dangerous dark wizard ever told of?

Shokan, meanwhile, had an idea. _Tsumibito probably won't care about what I do here. So…_ At that moment, he got behind Zeref and chopped at his neck, knocking him out.

All of the Black Knights were now in shock. Shokan just knocked out _Zeref_ without a second thought. Wouldn't it have been to his advantage to let Zeref kill the former Fairy Tail members?

"Hey!" Macao called out. "What was that about? Isn't he your ally?"

"You didn't want to fight him all by yourselves, did you?" Shokan pointed out with a deadpan expression. "Besides, I've been itching for a fight since I fought Gildarts on Heaven Wolf Island."

The Black Knights didn't react well to this. If the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail aside from Makarov was taken out by this person, then that spelt just as much trouble for them as Zeref's reappearance did.

Jet and Droy stood forward. "If you were on Heaven Wolf Island…" Jet spoke first. "Then you would've seen Levy, right?" He was finding it difficult to contain himself.

"PLEASE, TELL US THAT LEVY IS ALIVE! PLEASE!" Droy broke down and cried. The absence of Levy was making them both an emotional wreck.

"Sorry," Shokan replied. He didn't know who this 'Levy' was, but he didn't intend to tell them that. "But I don't feel inclined to tell you anything about that."

Jet scowled. "You bastard… HOW DARE YOU?" Using his High Speed, he charged at Shokan-

And got knocked out instantly by one very hard punch to the gut. He sprawled all over the ground.

"Jet!" Droy went to his friend's aid by getting his act together and using his Plant Magic.

Shokan wasn't fazed when he was held together by plants. He flexed his muscles and, with the help from Density Magic (which he used to knock out Jet), ripped the plants apart like paper. He jumped forward at a fast velocity and whacked Droy over the head with a closed fist. He wasn't going to get up for a while after that.

The rest of the core members of the Black Knights moved away from Shokan. They didn't expect him to be that fast.

Macao, Wakabe, Reedus, Nab, Alzack, Bisca, Vijeeter, Max and Laki, all huddled closer to talk amongst one another. They needed to formulate a plan now that Zero went off to do his own thing.

"Damn that Zero," Bisca said. "How could he just go off like that?"

"Calm down Bisca," Alzack said as he placed a hand on Bisca's shoulder.

"Zero is irrelevant at this point," Macao told them. "Right now, we need to think of how to deal with this guy."

"I'll take him on!" Vijeeter jumped in front of the group and started to dance. "With this, I can weaken our opponents' magic!"

_Pathetic. This is the most Fairy Tail can offer? This is too easy._ Shokan jumped in front of Vijeeter and grabbed him by his uniform. He threw Vijeeter straight into the ground hard enough to render him immobile. But as he did that, Laki used Wood Make Magic to hit Shokan at his side.

"Get your hands off of him, you jerk!" Laki was definitely not very enthusiastic like she usually was.

Shokan just looked at Laki with a blank look. "Is that all?"

_Darn it! He wasn't affected by my magic at all!_ Laki was panicking.

"I got you covered Laki!" Wakabe supported Laki with his Smoke Magic. He formed dozens of fists with his smoke and smashed them into Shokan.

Shokan still didn't feel anything. Tired of the Black Knights' struggling, he let go of Vijeeter and punched straight through Laki's wood, and swiped away Wakabe's smoke like it was a swarm of flies. He charged at Wakabe-

When Macao jumped in front of his friend and used his sticky purple flame to grab a hold of Shokan's fist. "Got you. NOW!" he called for everyone else to use their attacks.

Alzack aimed his pistols. "Guns Magic: Spark Shot!" He fired a magic circle that was charged with electricity.

Bisca requipped to now wield her magic sniper rifle and aimed carefully at Shokan. "Eat this!" She fired.

Nab summoned a red ethereal version of a wolf around his arms and charged straight through Shokan.

"Pict Magic: Cannon!" Reedus quickly sketched a large cannon on his stomach with his light pen and fired a cannonball after making it come to life.

Max summoned sand from his hand. "Sand Slash!" He chucked the strong attack at Shokan.

Wakabe jumped back and used his smoke to make more fists to hit Shokan.

"Wood Make: Violent Approach!" Laki sent a ball of wood flying fast at Shokan's location.

Letting go of Shokan, Macao retreated back to the other Black Knights. He was a little scathed from some of the attacks, but overall, he was fine. "Did we get him?"

The dust around Shokan settled. The Black Knights gaped. He was completely unscathed. And he was standing there with the same deadpan face he's had since the beginning of the fight. He would admit, he felt the attacks a little bit, but that could've been fixed with more Density Magic. He admitted to himself that he felt sorry for these poor wizards and their mediocre attempts to hurt him. Not that it mattered in the end anyway.

"Your teamwork is commendable," Shokan complimented flatly. "But you're still not strong enough." He stacked on more density on his body and the field he incorporated. "It's about time I just finish you all off." He rushed Macao and Wakabe and rammed them into nearby trees. Since Shokan's magic affects the environment's density as well, he was able to do real damage to the two seniors and not break the dead trees.

Macao and Wakabe fell on their backsides, out cold.

Before the other Black Knights could react fast enough, Shokan jumped in the air and came down on Nab with a hard axe kick to his head, also knocking him out. Sensing Laki coming from behind him, he grabbed Nab by the throat and threw him into the Wood Make user, disorientating her as Shokan came up and back-handed her in the face.

Reedus fired another cannonball at Shokan-

Who caught it with his right hand and threw it at Max (of whom was behind him from a distance), who was trying to prepare a stronger attack. But Max dodged it and tried Sand Slash instead. Shokan used more density and punched straight through the sand, creating a burst of wind from the impact.

"Better," Shokan said. "But you're running out of options." He dashed like a bullet into Reedus' stomach, and let the large wizard bounce with great force right into a tree, severely damaging his back. Reedus was now out too.

"Reedus!" Max cried out. _Damn it, this bastard's strong! How is he doing this?_

"Guns Magic: Tornado Shot!" Alzack fired two bullets, which merged into a tornado, at Shokan.

"You're going down!" Bisca requipped her sniper rifle into two machine guns and sprayed bullets at Shokan.

Shokan jumped into the air and to his left to avoid getting trapped in the onslaught of bullets and the tornado, and then-

Max unleashed the attack he was preparing. "Sand Rebellion!" With a gesture of his hand, Max called forth a large amount of sand that circled around Shokan. He swiped his hands to his left, causing the sand to explode around Tsumibito's ally.

Alzack and Bisca continued their onslaught of bullets; Alzack now using Guns Magic: Blast Bullet (a flurry of fire bullets coming from one gun), and Bisca continued to use her machine guns.

Shokan appeared behind Alzack, again, without a scratch, and threw him into Max's Sand Rebellion. Alzack screamed in pain.

"ALZACK!" Bisca cried out as she stopped her attack, as did Max.

Shokan appeared behind Bisca, grabbed her by the throat, and threw her over his head and into the ground, giving Bisca whiplash. He then got in front of Max, wrapped his arms around him, and jumped high into the air, then spun downwards with Max's and Shokan's heads facing the ground. Right before Max's head hit the ground, Shokan let go of him, and Max was forced to be knocked out from the force.

Shokan went back to Bisca and stomped on her stomach hard, which knocked her out. Sensing someone still moving from a distance, he went over to find Alzack still moving.

"Your attempts to hurt me have been futile throughout the whole fight," said Shokan. "Give up."

"No…" Alzack was straining his voice so he could be heard. "I will _not_ give up… All of us have to keep our guild's name intact… We're doing this for our friends who were on Heaven Wolf Island… We're trying to…"

"Your guild's name?" Shokan questioned plainly.

"!"

"I don't really care about why you're doing this, but I'm not stupid enough to believe that you're still a guild. You're the _Black Knights_ now, aren't you? Your Guild Master would've established that as soon as he took over, right?"

"Shut up…"

"You're no longer Fairy Tail now. You're all pathetic excuses for wizards if you ask me, as well as pawns for a grander scheme."

"SHUT UP!"

"Don't believe me? Why don't you ask Zero? Oh wait, he left you to get slaughtered so he can do his own thing. Tell me, has he left anything in the Black Knights the same as when you were all still known as Fairy Tail? I'm certain everyone who was on Heaven Wolf Island would be severely disappointed in all of you."

"TAKE THAT BACK!" Laki came out from hiding and ran up to Shokan to punch him.

But she was too slow, as Shokan moved his head to the right and grabbed Laki's hand, pulled her arm over his shoulder, and then proceeded to throw her over him, making her land on her back with a thump. "I was wondering when you were going to come out from hiding. Took you long enough."

Laki was crying, trying to hold back the tears but failing.

Not that Shokan cared. It was then that he sensed a presence in the bush. Magic was being charged at an alarming rate. _It looks like Lelouch is finally back. I'll have to deal with him._ He let go of Laki's hand and said to Alzack and Laki, "Think about what I said to the both of you." before he moved fast enough to get behind Lelouch and Reiji.

Laki was still sobbing, while Alzack tried crawling over to her to comfort her.

"It's- Not- F-Fair!" Laki said through sobs. "What choice did we have? The Baram Alliance was going to take over Fiore, and we didn't have a Master who was strong enough to lead us in stopping them!"

"Laki," Alzack whispered. "It's alright. You don't have to explain. We all agree with you. So please…" He was starting to cry as well. "Please…" He let the tears flow.

The Black Knights have been defeated.

End of Chapter 13

**(A/N: Okay. If you have any complaints about this, it would be because of the following:**

**It was a curb-stomp battle.**

**I'll be honest with you all. I was really disinterested in writing most of this fight. I don't get how this came second. But then again, I didn't expect this fight to be this bad either. I'll try to explain something here without trying to spoil anything, seeing as how it appears Shokan is immortal.**

**He does have a weakness. In fact, he has two. The first one is that he **_**can**_** get damaged by attacks. They just need to be really strong and unexpected, which is why the Black Knights could hardly hurt him; they weren't strong enough. In chapter 11, I'll tell you here, Lelouch fully awakening his true strength did hurt Shokan when he was blasted in the face; quite a bit, in fact. Another weakness will be revealed in the fight with the Generals and Shokan. And if you're really observant in this fight, you'll find a clue near the end of it.**

**There will be no omake here, seeing as how I can't come up with anything.**

**See you in the next fight.)**


	14. Turn Back the Magic Clock Battle Three

Chapter 14: Turn Back the Magic Clock – Battle Three

**(A/N: Now this is a fight I can't be disappointed in! I don't know about most of you guys, but I think Jellal is actually a good character. I fail to see why people **_**hate**_** him so much. Whatever. I think he's cool, and I'm going to do him justice in this chapter… I think.**

**Enjoy a Crowning Moment of Awesome just **_**waiting**_** to happen! I highly recommend listening to epic music, and then sad music, and then epic music again.)**

**I do not own Code Geass, Fairy Tail, or the original design of the expies. Draconichero Okayed my title a long while ago.**

* * *

The time is the 12th of March, X 788; around three years after the legendary battle of the Baram Alliance, the Black Knights and the Great Wizard Generals. But what actually occurred on that day? Time has lost most of these battles, but now they are starting to resurface for one last preview.

These are the lost chapters about the battles that the men and women of the three armies fought.

* * *

**March 10, X 785 – Jellal vs. the Baram Alliance**

Jellal Fernandes never expected to follow someone else's orders since the Tower of Heaven incident. But seeing that Lelouch Lamperouge was a man he could respect, he didn't mind that fact one bit. Perhaps being someone else's ally would be more interesting this time around. Or maybe this would be a good chance to work on redeeming himself for what he's done. Regardless, Jellal was going to see through Lelouch's plan. And to do that, he would need to take down two-thirds of the Baram Alliance's forces on his own.

Or at least, until Lelouch gets Reiji to join their side again.

Jellal looked at Ryuko Seishikina (both of whom were still wearing the prisoner whites) as they remained standing on the Branch building. He asked her, "Wanna count down before we get in the fray?" He was being funny with her.

She returned his joke with a laugh. "If you say so."

"Three…" They said simultaneously. "Two… One!" They jumped off the building, and Jellal broke away from Ryuko with Meteor; a spell he could use to increase his speed because of his Heavenly Body Magic. He decided that a large 'bang' would make for a fun entry in a battle. So he found a large group of the Baram Alliance's forces, and dove down right in the middle, leaving a small crater at his feet. He got up from his crouching position, and smirked. He was going to have fun with this.

"Ironic, isn't it?" he said to no-one in particular as more goons started to approach him. "For eight years, I have been operating as a man of malicious power and authority; I could've lead the Baram Alliance quite well if I wanted to. But now I'm not only working under someone else, I've changed sides completely. I've been waiting to get out of that prison for a while now." He closed his eyes. "Now then…" He opened them again. "Why don't we see just how powerful I am?"

He then glared at his enemies as he swiped his glowing right hand in front of him, causing the goons in front of his eyesight to fall into the ground as it collapsed underneath them. "Meteor." His body glowed gold. He moved at high speeds as he ran through groups of the Baram Alliance's forces, sending them flying as he did so. He flew up into the air, crossed his arms over his body (with his index and middle fingers not closed into his fist), and fired heavenly beams at a few goons when he threw his arms back. "Let's have some fun!" He dove down with Meteor into more goons, grabbed his left forearm with his free hand as he landed on the ground, and fired a heavenly blast at another group.

He ran through more goons with Meteor, covering an area of a few hundred metres. He stopped his advance and went for the sky again, diving down with great speed into several more goons, sending them flying again.

"Damn it all!" one of the goons cried out.

Another one said, "This guy's too fast for us to hit with our magic!"

Jellal merely laughed as he stood up straight again. "I'm just getting warmed up." He moved swiftly again as he spun in the air and kicked a goon in the face. After that, he went into the air and placed the heel of his right fist in his left palm, with his index and middle finger pointing upwards. Seven magic circles made a constellation in the air. "Grand Chariot!" The seven magic circles fired beams of magic at more goons. He smirked to himself as he flew through more goons at an incredible speed, much faster than Jet from the Black Knights.

_How about I slow down?_ He stopped moving with Meteor and began to walk casually. Goons approached from the sides, but Jellal used his magic to collapse the ground below them, preventing them from advancing further. As more ran in front of him, he grabbed his left forearm again and fired a blast of magic from his palm, again dispatching the enemy.

_That's like, what, two-thousand? Nah, not even close. Well, enough fooling around,_ he thought to himself. A lone goon ran up behind him, and was met with the back of Jellal's right fist, knocking him out. _Let's get a little more serious!_ He placed his hands above his head and crossed them over, summoning a magic circle with a star in the middle that turned into a black hole.

The shadows began to bend towards the awe-inspiring power of Jellal's spell. He chuckled to himself as everyone watching him started to shake in their boots. Wind revolved around his attack, furiously shifting everyone's clothing. The black hole formed into a ball. "Altairis!" He swung his arms in front of him, sending the attack flying forward into the large group that were unfortunate enough to try take down the man who deceived many throughout his life.

The destructive force was massive. The attack continued his path, capturing its prey that got in its way. The attack took out hundreds of goons in only ten seconds.

Jellal let out a sadistic laugh. He continued to laugh until he realised something was wrong.

What was he doing? He felt… Off. Has Jellal changed, in the end? Has regaining his memories really helped him try to change right now?

He completely forgot all about what happened with Oracion Seis and the Magic Council at the time. He and Erza shared something special. No, in fact: they still do, even if Erza wasn't here right now. How could Jellal be so stupid as to lose sight of this?

Jellal stopped to think. _I'm such an idiot. I'm taking pleasure in hurting others. Erza wouldn't want that. What the hell was I thinking up until now? This is… _"Unacceptable!" He clenched his teeth together, frustrated at himself for being such a fool.

"Hey guys, let's get him now!" A large group of dark guild members went to charge Jellal, not even considering using magic from a distance.

Jellal wasn't in the mood to deal with them right now, so he fired beams of magic at them, blowing them away with ease. "GET LOST!"

Jellal fell to his knees. Calmed, he continued to think to himself. _I can't stay like this. I want to be different; to change. But this; This!_ Jellal slammed his fist into the ground. _Damn it… _Again. _Damn it…!_ And again._ Damn it!_ And another one._ DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?_

Jellal needed to finish off more members of the Baram Alliance. If he continued like this, then he would've failed Lelouch; the man he swore had his full cooperation in this battle. Acting like this wasn't going to change anything.

_Lelouch… That's right. He needs me right now. I promised I would do this for him. Get it together, Jellal. You have to follow through with this. You can't turn back now. _He slowly got up from sitting on his knees. _Because after all…_ "What kind of a man would I be…" He lifted his head up and smiled genuinely. "…if I can't keep my promises?"

With his back facing the Branch building's direction, he jumped into the air and furiously drew a bronze magic circle with his fingers. He didn't get to use this attack during the Tower of Heaven incident because of an injury Jellal received from Erza. But now that he's in a large area, he needed to use this attack to make up for lost time. He couldn't help but smile at how he was doing all of this for the woman he still loves, and for the man who he felt will change everything for the better.

And now there was no stopping him. "ABYSS BREAK!"

A gigantic dark blast tore through the forest, literally hitting thousands of Baram Alliance members by the second. Goons flew everywhere as the blast reached them, hoping to escape the awesome power of one of Jellal's most powerful spells. The blast eventually reached a nearby mountain, and tore straight through it.

* * *

Tsumibito saw, from where he was, Jellal's attack. He was gobsmacked. "I've never seen such a powerful spell coming from a single person…!" Composing himself, he knew only one person Lelouch would've allied himself with that could use such a spell._ Jellal Fernandes… Yes, that's the only person in that prison who could use such an attack. I'll have to keep my eye on him._

* * *

Jellal ceased his attack and saw what he did.

The entire area where he fired Abyss Break was a gigantic crescent-shaped cut in the earth, leading up to the closest mountain (which would have been a couple of kilometres away from Jellal's position). Instead of laughing at the destructive power he released, Jellal looked dead serious.

"That's about all of them, I assume," he said as he looked at where Tsumibito would be. _Everyone else should be finished by now. _He charged straight at Tsumibito.

Tsumibito, with his wings still spread, watched Jellal advance with his right fist drawn back. He was coming in fast. Tsumibito could still see it, though.

As Jelal's fist came up to him, Tsumibito effortlessly grabbed it.

"!" Jellal's eyes widened.

Tsumibito smirked and stuck his chin in the air. "Jellal Fernandes. It looks like you took out most of my forces all by yourself. I must commend you; not many wizards are powerful enough to do that and still have some fight left in them."

Jellal scowled, and used a spell on Tsumibito as subtly as possible.

"Although… Wouldn't it be more to your advantage if you waited a little longer for the rest of your allies to come here?" Tsumibito asked with that same arrogant look on his face.

Jellal chuckled. "I think you spoke too soon."

Just then, Andreas jumped high into the air and came down with a flying fist.

"You're too obvious, Andreas Rokubuki," said Tsumibito as he let go of Jellal's fist-

And found that he couldn't move. _What the…?_

Andreas brought his fist down on Tsumibito's face, sending him sprawling in the air, unable to gain air control. When he did, Reiji sent a dozen wind slashes at him without even using his hands. Again, he got hit; even though he could've dodged.

"Noticed something?" Jellal smirked as he spoke to Tsumibito. "It happened when you grabbed my fist. You see, I used a Bind Snake on you."

"!" Tsumibito looked down at his hand and noticed a strange marking that circled around his fingers and palm. _Damn it. So that's what-_

"Yeah…" Jellal knew that acting sadistic went against what he was trying to become. But giving Tsumibito a taste of his own medicine was oh so satisfying; so he'll let it slide just this once. "I stalled you long enough so that I could use that spell on you and get my allies here just in time. We're gonna kick your arse, Tsumibito. So you better get ready."

"Tch… Fine." He used Shatter on himself to undo Jellal's spell. "If that's how you want to play, then let's go!" He flew upwards at a blinding speed.

But that fight will come around after the rest of the Baram Alliance forces have been revealed to have lost. To none other than Ryuko Seishikina.

End of Chapter 14

**(A/N: So basically what I did at the end was this:**

**The fight Tsumibito and everyone else had before Lelouch steps in will be shown in Ryuko's chapter; basically the last fight. So I'm going to have the final scene in this chapter repeated, but from a different perspective.**

**I hope you all liked this wicked curb-stomping of mooks. I had a great time with this one. Jellal was definitely awesome, and I would like to think I established his character development pretty well. You don't really see Jellal gradually change in **_**Fairy Tail**_** all that much, so reading this probably makes his change in seven years more believable.**

**Now let me tell you all something: there will be one last chapter at the end of **_**Turn Back the Magic Clock**_**. The last chapter will finish this arc, and then we can end the **_**Lelouch of the Absence **_**arc with chapter 19. And then we'll dive further away from canon from there.**

**Next up: another fight, obviously. Look forward to it.)**


	15. Turn Back the Magic Clock Battle Four

Chapter 15: Turn Back the Magic Clock – Battle Four

**(A/N: The fourth battle will now commence! I don't have much to say here other than I hope I'm not boring you with this arc. But don't worry; I have something very juicy in store for all of you at the end of this arc and everything after that. It will be quite a surprise. Trust me; it surprised me when I came up with it.**

**Also, I missed out Jellal in the polls! My bad! But don't worry; I fixed chapter 11 so that he's included in the dialogue. You don't really have to read it again, but you can if you want.**

**I recommend listening to **_**Bleach**_**'s OST "Fade to Black B13a", about a seven minute loop, when a certain power-up happens. Then after the battle ends, listen to "Never Meant to Belong" from the same OST.**

**Begin!)**

**I do not own Code Geass, Fairy Tail, or the original design of the expies.**

* * *

The time is the 12th of March, X 788; around three years after the legendary battle of the Baram Alliance, the Black Knights and the Great Wizard Generals. But what actually occurred on that day? Time has lost most of these battles, but now they are starting to resurface for one last preview.

These are the lost chapters about the battles that the men and women of the three armies fought.

* * *

**March 10, X 785 – Reiji, Andreas, Ryuko and Jellal vs. Shokan**

It was raining.

"Stay alive. If Zeref breaks out of that spell, then find me and retreat. I will be where Zero and Tsumibito are fighting," Lelouch Lamperouge said to his Generals as he flew off to fight the two men he mentioned.

"Hey, Lelouch; wait!" Jellal called out, but to no avail. Lelouch was gone.

"He'll be fine," said Ryuko. "His magic is much stronger than all of ours. He can take the both of them on."

Jellal understood. "So now we have to find Shokan and defeat him."

"Yeah…" Reiji chuckled. "I wonder how bad Lelouch messed up his face."

"Let's find out." Andreas leapt in the air to find Shokan. Everyone else followed suit.

Shokan was confused.

He thought he had knocked Lelouch out completely. And now he's lying on the ground with a broken nose and blood dripping from his forehead. Just how powerful did Lelouch become?

"If only I didn't let my guard down…" he muttered to himself as he started to get back on his feet. He scoffed as he spat out blood that was filling up his mouth. "Lelouch got lucky. If I used more density at the time, he never would've got through to me."

Of course, Shokan was just trying to convince himself. Lelouch's attack wasn't even at full strength, and yet it broke through Shokan's defence (which was at sixty percent full power). If Lelouch used one of his strongest attacks, he could've broken through Shokan's density at one-hundred percent.

"SHOKAN!" Andreas, with his six arms summoned, rushed downward on the enemy and went to punch his head in.

Shokan saw this and dodged to the side, letting Andreas touch the ground so he could hit him in the ribs with a swift elbow. Andreas was blown into a couple of trees before gaining air control and planting his feet on a third tree. He pushed against the tree to shoot forward.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Andreas spun around to generate power in his next punch.

"Not yet," Shokan said calmly as he jumped over Andreas and stomped on his back, making the Mantra Magic user fall face-first into the ground.

"Grand Chariot!" Jellal, in the air, fired seven heavenly beams at Shokan. Shokan dodged the attack and went to smash Jellal, who ducked underneath and grabbed Shokan's ankle. "Bind Snake."

Shokan couldn't move as strange markings moved around his skin.

"Now, Ryuko!" Jellal called out as he used Meteor to fly out of the way.

"Got it," Ryuko replied as she smirked wickedly, her left hand oozing a dark red liquid, which started to form into a black katana. Drawing the full sword out completely, she jumped into the air from the ground and went to slice through Shokan's midriff.

Shokan stacked on more density at the last second to block Ryuko's sword. He watched as the blade stopped dead on his six-pack.

Ryuko looked up at Shokan with a very unsettling smile. "You have some interesting magic there, don't you?" She gave a low creepy chuckle.

_This woman must be mentally unstable._ Shokan wouldn't show it, but he was deeply disturbed by Ryuko's sudden change in character. _Was it perhaps her magic that made her this way?_

Reiji declared his presence by saying, "I think it's high time I step in now." He appeared a small distance away from Ryuko. With his hands in his pockets, the wind circulating around his feet rose above his head as he sent dozens of wind slashes at Shokan.

_Shit,_ Shokan thought as Ryuko retreated from his location to not get hit by Reiji's attack. _I still can't move._ Shokan got blasted by Reiji's attack, sending him falling to the ground, now that Bind Snake has released its grip on him.

Andreas took a left-lead stance and flexed his right arms. With a powerful yell, he struck Shokan right in the back. Shokan flew into several trees, snapping them with great force, even though Shokan made the area around him as dense as he is. He eventually gained air control.

His back felt incredibly sore. _Impossible…! Surely he didn't hit me that hard._ He looked up to see Reiji descend slowly in front of Shokan's line of sight about seven metres away.

"You sure you can handle this, Shokan?" Reiji asked as he planted his feet on the ground. "It's four against one."

Jellal appeared behind Shokan, covering the flank of Tsumibito's ally. "He's right, you know. You should stop while you're ahead."

"Unless of course," Ryuko showed up behind Reiji with that same sadistic smile. "You want to get beaten to a pulp and chopped up into pieces."

_This girl is undeniably creepy,_ Reiji thought to himself. But he tried to stay calm.

Andreas jumped in front of Shokan. "This is your last chance. Give up."

Shokan stared at them for a little while. _For a group of Generals, they're pretty naïve. They can't honestly expect me to be this weak. I've been holding back up until now._

He suddenly punched Andreas in the stomach, shocking everyone else as Andreas spat out saliva. "Pass." He grabbed Andreas by the hair and threw him sky high. He then rushed straight into Reiji and Ryuko, blowing them away with the powerful force behind Shokan's lariat. He looked back at Jellal, who tried collapsing the ground underneath his feet.

But he found that he couldn't destroy the earth. "What the hell…?"

"It's my Density Magic," Shokan explained. "Not only does my magic increase my body's sturdiness, but it also affects the area that's caught in my field; meaning that everything that you can see and more is as unbreakable as I am."

"I would like to test that theory," said Reiji as he came up behind Shokan and aimed for the back of his neck with a ball of wind magic.

"!" Shokan showed panic for a split second, and he jumped forward, not noticing that Jellal was using Meteor to run into his stomach. He coughed up blood because of the unbelievable speed Jellal managed in such a short amount of time, even though Shokan was using fifty percent of full density. Shokan went sailing into the air, open for Andreas to get back into the fight by driving his right knee into Shokan's back. Shokan went higher into the air.

Ryuko laughed as she came down from the air, her sword pointing downwards so it would be able to go through Shokan's stomach.

Shokan tried desperately to gain air control, but found he could only stack on more density. To his relief, it worked. Ryuko's blade didn't pierce his skin, shocking her a little.

Shokan, for the first time in a long time, was scowling. "You're all quite bothersome. Now you've all forced me to not hold back. I'll finish you all off for good." He gained air control and with a little swipe of his hand, blasted Ryuko straight into the ground.

"Ryuko!" Reiji cried out and looked up at Shokan. "How did he…?"

Shokan bolted back into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave and making Jellal, Reiji and Ryuko back away. Andreas came back down to grab Shokan and throw him back into the air, but got flicked away by Shokan's hand as he grabbed him by the hair again and threw him over to the Generals.

Shokan's eyes were closed. "You're all going to regret the day you fought against me. Now that you forced me to play my hand…" He shot his eyes open, revealing that his blue eyes are now red. "You shall see my full power."

The Generals took a step back in shock.

"Shit…! This is not good!" Reiji panicked.

"Shut up Reiji!" Jellal screamed. "Everyone: scatter!" And they did so as Shokan made his advancement on them.

Shokan made his way to Andreas, and started to pummel him with the fastest punches he's ever thrown. Andreas found it highly difficult to dodge all of them; getting hit by one or two very hard hits to the face.

Shokan eventually found an opening and struck Andreas in the neck, making him fly across the air.

Jellal prepared Grand Chariot again, but Shokan expected this. He found Jellal and homed in on him. He ran straight into Jellal's midriff, cracking a couple of ribs as Jellal fell to the ground.

"I got you, Jellal!" Reiji used wind to catch Jellal and help him descend carefully onto the ground. He then summoned more wind to circle around his feet, and held his hands out in front of him. He started chanting. "Oh great wind: hear my call. Bestow onto me your everlasting gust of power. Grant me the ability to summon one of your great spirits to vanquish this enemy." He closed his eyes. The wind went sky high as the large upper body of a wind ghost sprouted from Reiji's lower back. The wind spirit was very muscular, and wielded a scimitar in its right hand. It was bigger than Reiji.

Reiji slowly opened his eyes, revealing them to now be a light blue instead of his natural red. His blue irises swirled around as he stared coldly at Shokan, who returned the glare. "You're not the only one with a trump card, buddy!" He smirked. "You ready?"

"Always," Shokan answered coldly as he and Reiji charged at each other with blinding speed. Reiji's wind blade followed his right hand, as he made a wide diagonal slash in Shokan's direction. Shokan blocked the attack with his open hand.

_I got to distract him for a little longer,_ Reiji thought as he retreated. _I managed to tell Ryuko that I think his weak spot is the back of his neck. But will she be able to get through without Shokan knowing?_

"Well come on," Shokan taunted coldly, which was rare for him. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing!" Reiji charged again and swung his sword furiously.

Shokan was easily dodging Reiji's attack. Left, right, diagonal… He was reading Reiji's movements like a book. _Liar, you're up to something. Have you perhaps figured out my weak spot?_ He thought back to when Reiji tried attacking his neck earlier. _He must have, _he thought as he blocked Reiji's blade again, then bore his fingers down, breaking through the solid wind blade.

"!" Reiji retreated while his spirit discarded its sword, and then summoned two battle axes. Reiji charged back in, axes swinging.

Shokan wasted no more time, as he leapt over Reiji and kicked the wind ghost in the head, dissipating that particular area, forcing it to regenerate as Shokan kicked into Reiji's back _hard_. Reiji flew forward and soon gained air control.

Andreas came back as he fired blasts of Mantra Magic at Shokan from a long distance. Shokan took the full brunt of his onslaught as he charged through each powerful blast, not even fazing him.

Andreas screamed in rage as he increased his blasts, but finding it of no use. He stopped his attack and charged his magic into his fists. He hunched forward while doing so, and then released more power as he stomped his feet and outstretched his arms. "COME ON!" He was going to hold Shokan in place so someone else could go in for a fatal blow.

Shokan ran right into Andreas' arms, who found it difficult to block Shokan and hold him back. Shokan was dragging Andreas across the forest, kicking up dust as he increased his speed and slammed Andreas through trees.

"How does it feel? It's not exactly comfortable having trees snapping from the impact of your back, does it?" Shokan was still scowling with those fierce red eyes, expecting something to happen.

"GO TO HELL!" Andreas yelled as more trees broke against his back, weakening his arms. _Damn it…! My strength is weakening…_ Still holding to Shokan, Andreas jumped into the air and wrapped four arms around Shokan, then furiously pounded his two free hands onto Shokan's head as they went up and up into the air.

Shokan was starting to feel the blows hurt a little bit. He was having trouble breaking free from Andreas' hold. _Not good. This would mean_-

"DO IT RYUKO!" Andreas yelled.

Ryuko heard Andreas from where she was taking care of Jellal, and summoned her sword again. She dashed in the air as fast as she could and saw Shokan being held in place. She moved faster.

Andreas let go quickly to not get caught in Ryuko's decapitating attack. Shokan knew this would happen.

As Ryuko went for the finishing blow, Shokan did a roundhouse kick as fast as he could to divert Ryuko's body from making a clean cut. Her blade cut across the side of Shokan's neck, drawing blood from Shokan's right side.

Ryuko descended as she couldn't stay in the air like Reiji and Jellal could. She said to herself while smiling, "Aww. I was so close to cutting him up too." She landed and sheathed her sword back into dark red ooze that moulded back into her skin. Sane again, she made her way to Jellal to see if he could still fight.

Shokan was panting from the adrenaline rush. He was so close to having his head cut off that it scared him as badly as Acnologia did when it destroyed Heaven Wolf Island. He descended downward also, as he tried to recompose himself.

But Andreas wasn't going to give him a break, and neither was Reiji. They both homed in on Shokan. Andreas planned on smashing him in the head again, and Reiji spun around to immerse his well being in a mini tornado.

Shokan punched the ground to kick up dust, stopping the two Generals from cornering him. He leapt into the air and did a front flip, and then an axe kick on Andreas, smashing him into the ground. He dashed forward to Reiji and did a right uppercut into his abdomen, making him fly into the air. "Had enough?" He raised his voice. "I'm just getting warmed up."

He was lying, of course, but he wanted the Generals to feel inferior.

He decided to finish off Jellal and Ryuko, so he jumped high and dashed forward to find them.

Jellal was now standing up by himself. He took a left-lead stance and leaned forward. He held his arms out with both of his hand's index and middle fingers held together, glowing with magic. He arched his right arm upwards and his left arm downwards to the ground; making his arms parallel to each other as his magic followed his arms through the air. The sky above swirled on converged around Jellal's location. Thunder cracked.

_I never thought I would have to use this spell, but…_ "True Heavenly Body Magic…"

Shokan moved faster. Something was definitely wrong.

Ryuko moved as far away as she could, so as to not get caught in the blast radius. She found Andreas and Reiji struggling to get up. "Retreat! Now!" She grabbed the two men's hands as she tried to pull them along. Jellal told her about this spell just a very short moment ago. It was going to be his ultimate attack. If this didn't stop Shokan, then they were all doomed.

Jellal looked up with a fierce aura of determination swelling within him. Shokan prepared to-

"SEMA!"

* * *

A giant beam of Heavenly Body Magic rained down from the heavens on Shokan before he could reach Jellal. Trees caught in the twenty metre radius (and counting) were disintegrating completely. The ground was shaking violently from the destructive force of Jellal's spell as it expanded larger and larger.

Just as that happened, Lelouch's magic energy disappeared.

* * *

Ryuko, Andreas and Reiji noticed it. Lelouch was cut off. They made their way to where Lelouch was last sensed.

* * *

Jellal's attack subsided slowly until it disappeared. It stopped raining, and the clouds moved apart to reveal the night sky; stars shining brightly. The surrounding area that spanned a total of sixty metres was worse than a war zone. It was like a meteor literally struck the earth, leaving behind a gigantic crater. In the middle of the destruction laid Jellal. A few metres from his location also laid Shokan, whose back was facing the now dry sky. His coat was annihilated; completely gone, and his pants and boots were torn up pretty badly. He had several scratches on his well developed body. His right arm was broken from the impact of landing arm-first into the ground from Jellal's spell.

He lost, and was _barely _holding onto life.

Jellal slowly moved his head and looked up to find Shokan lying there, motionless. He slowly, but painfully, crawled over to Shokan to check if he was still breathing. Jellal didn't feel too comfortable with the thought of killing someone again.

Shokan sluggishly turned over onto his back, not even caring that his right arm flopped across his body and landed on the ground, sending signals to Shokan's brain that it hurt.

Jellal stopped crawling.

"I lost…" Shokan muttered, no longer scowling, but not deadpan. His eyes turned back to blue. "I…"

"Yeah, you lost," Jellal said more clearly. "So what?"

"It means I failed Tsumibito… I should be strong enough to deal with any threats that may stop his plans…"

Jellal pondered what Shokan said. He asked, "You're quite the loyal man, aren't you?"

Shokan didn't reply.

"Why do you follow Tsumibito so blindly? Don't you know he's a monster?"

"I'm completely aware of that."

"Then answer my first question," Jellal demanded, still on the ground.

Shokan never really did like sharing his past with people. Oh well, it's not like he could avoid it. He figured he might as well start from the beginning.

"When I was young…" Shokan began. "I never really belonged anywhere. My parents died when I was little, and none of the orphanages really made me feel at home. I always ran away; not wanting to get involved with anyone. Except for…"

"Except for who?"

"My 'big brother', Jordan. He and I met one day at his first orphanage. He was the only one who I saw eye to eye with, and who made me feel like I'm worth it. So he and I used to run away from orphanages so that we could live how we wanted.

"We did everything together. Jordan was always really smart. He used to get the both of us out of tight situations. Even though he wasn't my real blood-brother, I always felt that he was.

"But that was before we were captured and used as child labour. We worked there tirelessly for three years before there was a slave revolt…"

"Where?"

"At the Tower of Heaven."

"!" Jellal couldn't believe it. _He was a slave during the construction of the Tower?_

"I was about 10 at the time we were captured. Jordan was 12. When the guards of the Tower were torturing someone in plain sight, Jordan decided to step up and help. I didn't want him to go, but he refused to listen to me. After they beat him to a pulp, they took him away.

"I was powerless to stop them. They beat me up too as I tried to get back the only family I had. But instead of taking me, they took him."

"Then he…"

"Yeah… He died when I was 12. He was only 14; a year before the revolt. They killed him in cold blood."

"So when the slave revolt happened, you were 13 and…"

"I left."

"What? But how?" Jellal asked.

"I took a single boat that no-one used, and I paddled hard out into the ocean; trying to get away from the place that held bad memories for me. I wasn't going to stay there for the rest of my life. Eventually when my arms gave out, I was soon found drifting in the ocean by a ship led by pirates. They took me back to shore, and I travelled alone for the next four years."

"You would've joined a dark guild by then, right?"

"I joined a small dark guild when I was 17 and in Fiore, yes."

"Why didn't you join an official guild?"

"I didn't feel up to it at the time. Now I simply don't care."

"When did you learn to use magic?" Jellal asked Shokan.

"When I joined Tartaros a couple of years ago," he answered.

"How did you get away with not knowing magic for so long?"

"I bluffed it. The idiots were too easy to convince since I could beat them to a bloody pulp with just my fists. But when I moved to Tartaros, I needed to learn magic. That's when the Guild Master helped me out, and I learned how to use Density Magic ever since."

"When did you meet Tsumibito?"

"July 7thof last year," he replied. "Tsumibito recently joined Grimoire Heart at the time. It was to be made known that he was a powerful wizard that shouldn't be underestimated by the lower ranks. The other two guilds, Tartaros and Oracion Seis, had to announce it with Grimoire Heart in a large gathering of every dark guild in the country."

"How old are you now, Shokan?"

"22," he said. "I was born in January, X 763. Or so I was told."

"So you met Tsumibito when you were 21."

"Yes."

"Why did you decide to follow him?" Jellal re-asked his first question before Shokan told him about his life.

"It's because he reminded me of Jordan. He held himself in such high regard. He was highly intelligent. And when he came up to me after hearing about what kind of wizard I was, I felt that I would be doing myself a favour in following him; like I did with Jordan. So I assisted him in any way I could. After the Heaven Wolf Island incident, I left Tartaros, but not the Baram Alliance. I wanted to stay with Tsumibito, because I felt he could change history. Much like Jordan could've if he was still alive today."

Jellal didn't say anything. Should he ask Shokan if Jordan would've done the same thing as Tsumibito? And if not, should he still follow him then?

He decided against it. It was possible Shokan wasn't looking for a change in opinion. Jellal got up onto his knees, holding onto his side where he had broken ribs. With one last heave, Jellal stood up. He stumbled a little, but soon found his balance. "If you truly believe that, then do what you want with your life, Shokan." He started to walk as he saw the Generals holding Lelouch's arms over their shoulders. Lelouch wasn't moving, and there was a huge bloody cut across his upper body. _Crap… I hope he's still alive._ He hurried over to the group as fast as he could manage.

Shokan didn't move from where he laid. What was the point? It wasn't like he was going to be rescued. Tsumibito was too cold-hearted of a person to care for other people aside from himself.

Shokan closed his eyes to rest. When he had the strength to move again, he'll go look for Tsumibito. That is, if he was still alive.

End of Chapter 15

**(A/N: This… My god. This is my best fight yet. I really outdid myself here.**

**If you liked this chapter, then review it and tell me what you think. Up until now, I've been nice and let you all read my story quietly. But I want to see what everyone else who hasn't reviewed already thinks about my story. So please, if you have anything good to say, or something critical, then go right ahead and say it. I'm all ears.**

**On another note…**

**Shokan doesn't have too much of a dumb and obvious back story, does he? I mean, sure, most of the bad guys in **_**Fairy Tail **_**came from the Tower. But it worked so well when I thought about it that I couldn't let it pass by. Tell me what you think about it.**

**Now about the end…**

**Lelouch's and Tsumibito's Mexican Standoff with swords ended before this chapter did. Now all of you know that Lelouch is still intact. So that's good. You can guess what happened at the end if you want, but I won't say anything. You'll have to read the final chapter of **_**Turn Back the Magic Clock**_** when it comes out to know for certain.**

**If you're questioning what Ryuko's magic is and why she went crazy…**

**Wait until the last fight with her and the Baram Alliance. *troll face***

**Two more fights and we'll reach the conclusion! See you later!)**


	16. Turn Back the Magic Clock Battle Five

Chapter 16: Turn Back the Magic Clock – Battle Five

**(A/N: Anyone who has played **_**Asura's Wrath**_** and loves it might get something out of this fight. That's right; prepare to witness the awesomeness that is inspired by the game itself. Reiji will get one hell of a fight with Andreas. Are you ready?**

**Let's do this. I recommend part 4 of the New World Symphony, mainly from the **_**Asura's Wrath **_**OST. Then after that, you'll need some peaceful music. Any would do just fine.)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass**_**,**_** Fairy Tail**_**, or the original design of the expies.**

* * *

The time is the 12th of March, X 788; around three years after the legendary battle of the Baram Alliance, the Black Knights and the Great Wizard Generals. But what actually occurred on that day? Time has lost most of these battles, but now they are starting to resurface for one last preview.

These are the lost chapters about the battles that the men and women of the three armies fought.

* * *

**March 10, X 785 – Andreas vs. Reiji**

Reiji Soyokaze was a bastard.

Andreas Rokubuki believed this to be the case when the Wind Magic user declared his defection from the Great Wizard Generals back in the Fiore Branch building prison, which is now crumbling down as everyone aside from these two wizards went to escape. Andreas decided to take it upon himself to make the traitorous filth understand what it means to betray someone's trust. Because after all, Andreas himself knew the concept personally.

After summoning his six metallic arms (made possible by his Mantra Magic), he charged at Reiji to further smash him into the wall.

Reiji expected this. So he forced himself out of the wall by using Wind Magic. He grabbed Andreas by the arms and chucked him into the wall just in time.

Andreas stopped himself from going through the wall by planting his feet on it, and then pushing off to gain some air control and back down to where he started, looking up at Reiji.

The building shook as the two men stared at each other; one with a grin, and the other with a scowl.

Reiji spoke first. "Not too shabby, old man. You're a lot faster than you look."

Andreas waited patiently for an opening.

"But you know, the older you get means it becomes a lot harder to land a hit on someone like me." Debris fell near Reiji. "I hope you know what you're doing. I don't want you to pull a muscle on me in the middle of the fight now."

Andreas sneered. Why was he letting him talk so much?

"If you're so sure about this, then let's go," he said with a taunting gesture of the hand.

Andreas roared and jumped at Reiji while spinning, going for a lariat. But Reiji retreated backwards and Andreas ended up punching through falling debris, kicking up dust in his eyes.

Reiji took this opportunity by escalating high and using his Wind Magic to throw debris at the Mantra Magic user.

Andreas jumped on a large piece from the ceiling to push himself higher into the air, blasting through debris with blasts of magic from his six fists. When he reached Reiji, he grabbed him by the hair and threw him down into the abyss below, where the other prisoners were falling into.

Reiji gained air control and sent not dozens, but hundreds of wind slashes at Andreas.

Andreas, while deescalating, fired blasts of his magic to counter the endless onslaught. They both continued to fire more and more blasts, until Andreas got close enough to then smash Reiji in the face. Reiji fell into the abyss.

Andreas climbed back up by jumping on more large pieces of falling debris until he got back onto the railing. He took a moment to breathe, then continued to leave the building as it came crashing down-

Only for Reiji to make his wind reach the ceiling as he called upon the wind spirit. He flew into the air to meet Andreas' level and put his hands into his pocket. His eyes were now a light blue instead of red, as wind circulated around his feet at a fast velocity. He wasn't exactly smiling.

Andreas wasn't overly surprised by the fact Reiji was still alive, but he was surprised by Reiji's new form. What was that thing on his back supposed to be?

Reiji said, "Surprised? It's one of my strongest spells that I have in my disposal. For example, if I were to do this…" Reiji swiped his right hand to his side, the wind sword following the movement as it sent a large wind slash through the right side of the building, breaking through to the outside. "…on you, then you're in deep fucking shit, my friend."

"You think that could stop me? THEN GO AHEAD AND TRY!" Andreas bolted at Reiji with a spinning kick to the head. Reiji blocked the kick with his sword. Andreas jumped on top of the wind spirit's head and flew high into the air. He shot himself downwards on Reiji, firing magic blasts as he came closer.

Reiji cut through the blasts with his wind sword. He whipped up some wind to circle around his sword, wanting to increase the power of his next swing at Andreas.

The two collided with their sword and fists, generating enough force to blast falling debris into tiny pieces. Reiji was having trouble keeping Andreas' fists off of him. When he managed to push Andreas back into the air, he just came back down and threw a large flurry of punches at Reiji, who returned the attack with several sword slashes. When the two collided, small bursts of wind smashed through the walls, creating more debris as it all fell downwards.

Reiji grabbed Andreas by the arms with his free spirit hand and threw him into the wall. But Andreas stepped on it again and bore down on Reiji once more with a flurry of fists. Reiji tried desperately to block, but was starting to weaken.

Andreas found an opening and took it. He grabbed Reiji by the throat and bolted downwards with Reiji in hand. Reiji couldn't get Andreas off of him, and they fell back into the abyss, looking for an end to it.

Silence fell until large amounts of magic went flying all over the place. The bursts of magic were insane. Andreas and Reiji would've found the bottom of the abyss and be standing on fallen debris that reached the ground. Underneath all of the debris were the prisoners in their cages.

The attacks didn't let up. They kept on firing at each other blindly until literally the whole ceiling was gone, revealing the (currently) cloudy sky. A storm was most certain to come.

The attacks ceased momentarily. Reiji emerged from the abyss with Andreas's head in his wind spirit's grasp. He took a moment to breathe, and then bolted upwards into the air and outside the building. Reiji threw Andreas higher into the air and shot hundreds of wind slashes at him. They all hit their target.

Reiji smirked once again. "Yeah! How do you like that you annoying piece of shit? I've just about had enough of you! Why don't I finish you off for good right here and now?"

Andreas suddenly opened his eyes. But something was different about them. They were glowing. He regained air control and spun around to stop the onslaught of attacks, sending a red aura outwards in a circular motion.

"!" Reiji stopped smirking.

Andreas growled as he homed in on Reiji with blasts of his magic that he was shooting from his fists. Reiji flew higher to not get caught, but Andreas just got close to him and grabbed his sword, breaking it into pieces. Reiji retreated and spun repeatedly in a circle, surrounding himself in wind until he was like a tornado. He charged at Andreas, who blocked, and flew upwards into the sky.

Andreas was running low on breath, so he thought quickly about what to do next. He yelled, and brought his fist down into the tornado, luckily hitting Reiji right on the head.

The tornado ceased as Reiji fell down to the ground. His wind spirit disappeared.

Andreas screamed at the top of his lungs as he brought his knee down on Reiji's chest, sending him flying back down towards the building. Like a bullet, Andreas drove Reiji through a pillar along the railing, and then down onto the railing itself.

Blind with unstoppable fury, Andreas went for a furious beat down on Reiji. Sitting on his knees, Andreas unleashed a flurry after flurry of punches. He was hitting Reiji in the head so hard that the ground underneath Reiji's skull was breaking from the force of each blow.

It was then that Kishi Barasono entered and saw what was happening. She cried out, "Stop it Andreas!"

* * *

Hearing her voice, a vision of a little girl with long white hair flashed before Andreas, and disappeared as she turned around. Andreas stopped his attack immediately. His eyes stopped glowing. _My… …daughter… _He looked up and saw Kishi running over to him and Reiji.

"Andreas, stop fighting Reiji! He's still on our side!"

Andreas looked back down at Reiji.

Reiji was knocked out. His forehead was bleeding, and his cheeks were swelling up. Andreas got off of him and stood up. He looked at his hands, and clenched them into fists. "Why…?"

"Huh?" Kishi looked at Andreas.

"Why is he on our side? Didn't he say that-?"

"I have something called Detection Magic," Kishi explained. "I can detect lies when I hear them."

Andreas closed his eyes and sighed. "I see." He opened them again as Reiji started to wake up.

His vision was blurry. But he soon registered that he was in a building. He looked to his right and saw nothing particularly special.

He looked to his left and saw someone walking up to him and reaching down to pick him up. He closed his eyes again. _Well shit… It looks like I lost this one…_ He laughed mentally to himself.

Andreas asked Kishi as they started walking back to Lelouch (with Reiji on his shoulder), "Did Lelouch tell you to come and get me?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Alright then… What am I going to do for him?"

"He'll tell you what to do when you go and get him."

"Where is he?"

"Fighting Tsumibito."

"By himself?" Andreas was a little surprised by that.

Kishi nodded. "He'll need someone to carry him back here when Tsumibito beats him."

"How do you know Lelouch will lose?"

"Because _he_ knows he'll lose."

"I don't quite understand what you mean."

"I know Lelouch better than anyone else. He'll need everyone to do something if we're going to win this." She looked at Andreas. "That's why he'll need you. He believed you could defeat Reiji in time to go and save him."

"You must really care for him," Andreas pointed out.

Kishi laughed nervously and poked her index fingers together. "Well…"

Andreas chuckled lightly. He said, "I guess I should hurry out there and get him now." He grabbed Kishi with his free hand and made a mad dash to outside, all the while Kishi was screaming in terror because they were moving too fast.

* * *

After they made it outside, Andreas set Reiji and Kishi down on the ground. Without looking at either of them, he said to them, "I'll be off." He jumped off the building to go and save Lelouch (who just got cut up by Tsumibito).

Kishi, after settling down the heart attack she just had, noticed Reiji was moving on his own. He sat up and looked away from her.

Kishi got up and walked. Holding her hands behind her back and not looking in his direction at all, she spoke to Reiji. "You know, you're kind of a jerk."

Reiji looked at her with no change in his stern expression.

"You could've just sided with us from the beginning. It would've saved Andreas the time he took fighting you into submission."

"Yeah well, you know…" Reiji smirked. "I guess I just wanted to see how Lelouch would react."

"Liar."

"!"

"That's not true at all. The truth is…" She looked at Reiji with a serious look on her face. "You didn't want to be trusted by someone, did you? This façade of being a jerk: it's to drive people away from you, isn't it? You do this because you lost someone close to you in the past by trusting them."

Reiji couldn't believe it. This girl just figured him out! How did she do that? Was she some sort of mind reader?

He scoffed. "You're a little too perceptive for your own good."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

"Huh?" Reiji was confused.

"If you want Lelouch to believe you're a jerk, then that's fine. If you want everyone else to think you're a jerk, that's also fine. But promise me something."

"And what would that be?"

"Learn to cooperate with them. If they need your help, don't be afraid to help them. If you need help from them, don't be afraid to ask for it." She smiled brightly. "That's what friends are for, aren't they?"

Reiji had to admit to himself that he was touched by what Kishi said to him. For a long time now, he hasn't wanted to trust anyone; not ever since that day in Caelum. That day when his wife was killed, and he swore that he would kill the person responsible.

But he dragged down so many people along the way that he became one of the most infamous criminals in the country.

Hearing what Kishi said to him just now, to him, sounded like something his wife would've said. Reiji decided to take on her advice. _I guess she's right. I never did trust that many people in my life. Maybe, just maybe, things will be different with these guys. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to call them friends in the future._

Reiji muttered, "Thank you."

Kishi nodded and looked at Andreas and Lelouch, who just arrived.

* * *

Reiji Soyokaze has now decided to be a General for as long as he could manage. But he was still going to be a jerk. He might as well keep the façade up. Why not?

End of Chapter 16

**(A/N: I don't know what to think about this chapter.**

**I mean, sure, Reiji had a nice scene at the end there. But the fight? Meh. I don't know if it's epic enough; I don't know if it can hold a candle to the game Andreas' character comes from. But then again, everything is different in writing form. If this was animated, then it wouldn't be as hard to appreciate, I guess.**

**If you're wondering about Andreas' daughter…**

**Wait until I know how to get to that point in the story. I'll come up with something. I already know what will happen in my head. So just wait until I write it down.**

**Why am I updating so fast?**

**I'm trying to finish this arc and **_**Lelouch and the Absence**_** as quick as possible in the holidays. Because after that, my spare time will be limited again.**

**Please review and look forward to the last fight.)**


	17. Turn Back the Magic Clock Battle Six

Chapter 17: Turn Back the Magic Clock – Battle Six

**(A/N: Here's the last battle for **_**Turn Back the Magic Clock**_**! After this, we'll get one more chapter before the conclusion of **_**Lelouch of the Absence**_**, and then we'll see the beginning of the new arc!**

**Now we will witness Ryuko's fight, and also the conclusion of the fight we saw at the end of Jellal's chapter. So please enjoy. I recommend some awesome yet unsettling music, like "Invasion" from the **_**Bleach**_** OST. And then after that, try "Fade to Black B13a" again. After all, Ryuko became crazy during the last chapter she was in. Now I shall explain it to you all in this chapter.**

**Sweet dreams. *troll face*)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass**_**,**_** Fairy Tail**_**, or the original design of the expies.**

* * *

The time is the 12th of March, X 788; around three years after the legendary battle of the Baram Alliance, the Black Knights and the Great Wizard Generals. But what actually occurred on that day? Time has lost most of these battles, but now they are starting to resurface for one last preview.

These are the lost chapters about the battles that the men and women of the three armies fought.

* * *

**March 10, X 785 – Ryuko vs. the Baram Alliance**

Ryuko Seishikina was an interesting case. Well, in terms of psychological imbalance.

It was now against the law in Sin to carry any bladed weapon whatsoever. The army was forced to redo all of their training so that they knew how to use magic. This has been reinforced for about ten years.

It was Ryuko's fault, and she didn't try to say otherwise.

If she didn't learn how to use Saika Magic from some crazy old coot that kidnapped her on the street and forced this magic power down her throat, then maybe Ryuko would be enjoying herself back home. But she knew that will never happen, because she committed genocide on the highest scale. She did it all in one week, by herself, and very swiftly. So swift, in fact, the army didn't catch wind of her murders until they started getting attacked themselves. The government was forced to exile and imprison her in Fiore, and she's been there ever since until now.

The sword was no ordinary blade; it would corrupt the mind and make the wielder go mad. If Ryuko wasn't careful with it, it would take over her body completely. It would become very difficult to separate the two of them if that happened.

So when Lelouch ordered her and Jellal to take out approximately twelve-thousand members of the Baram Alliance by themselves, she kept that fact in mind.

"Three… Two… One!" Ryuko and Jellal jumped off the Fiore Branch building. Jellal went left while Ryuko kept falling downwards. She didn't _want_ to use her sword again, but she had no choice right now. Everyone was assigned a task to fulfil; she had to do her part whether she liked it or not.

So she began to summon it. Red ooze flowed out of her fingers on her left hand, beginning to form the tip of a black blade as it solidified. The guard was noticeably missing as it was drawn out completely.

_Here comes the killing spree…_ she thought to herself. When she landed on the ground, she didn't land on dirt or anything like that.

She landed on top of someone. With her sword in his chest. He didn't move anymore.

She pulled the sword out of his chest slowly, so as to scare everyone else who was watching. She gave a low and unsettling chuckle as she stood up with her head hung low. The laughter increased dramatically as she raised her head with the most frightening look ever bestowed on a person; her pupils dilated and her eyes wide open, she made the other goons feel _terrified_.

"WHO WANTS TO DIE FIRST?" she asked, causing everyone to run away from her, panicking. "OKAY! I _LOVE_ A GOOD HUNT!" She swung her sword and created a large black magic slash, slicing through dozens of unfortunate goons who didn't get away fast enough. She jumped into the air and did a couple of front flips before stabbing through another goon's back, pinning him to the ground.

She pulled her sword out again and dashed towards a large group she saw running away from her. Wanting to get more kills, she charged her magic so that a black aura surrounded her sword's blade, and then threw the sword straight through a goon's throat. Upon impact, the magic exploded, with large groups of goons now becoming collateral damage as the black explosion reached for the sky.

"This bitch is crazy!" cried a nearby goon.

"FUCKING RUN!" another shouted out.

Ryuko resummoned her sword into her hand and looked behind her (the direction the voices came from). Everyone shuddered at seeing her unsettling smile for the first time (or again, depending on how far they ran away earlier). She raised her sword into the air and charged more magic into it; the black energy flaring like fire. More goons futilely ran for their lives.

"Yes… Run…!" Ryuko muttered. "RUN WHILE YOU STILL BREATHE!" She brought her blade down, with the magic slash trailing along the ground and right into another group. The force of Ryuko's magic was so strong that it pushed all of the members through trees. It also left a giant gash in the ground.

"Is that all?" Ryuko asked with a creepy edge to her voice. "I'm not even warmed up yet!"

She ran through the forest, chopping up every single group of goons she ran past into a bloody mess. She was attacking so frantically that she was chopping dead trees into two. Everyone witnessing this carnage could only scream and run in terror.

Ryuko was a monster, and she knew it.

Ryuko stabbed her sword into a goon's foot and charged magic into the tip of the blade. The sword began to glow red as it was prepared to self-destruct with magic. Ryuko giggled as she retreated to not get caught in the blast radius.

And then it exploded, killing everyone and everything in the thirty-metre radius. The attack made a clearing in the forest; no trees, no stumps, and no life could be seen. All that remained after the explosion was a small wasteland.

Ryuko came back to pick up her sword (which still had the foot stuck on it). She stood on the foot and pulled her katana out of it. Ryuko eyed the area carefully as she looked for more victims. Sensing a hint of magic to her left, she dashed towards the source and cut straight through it.

But the source, for some reason, disappeared before Ryuko could catch a glimpse of what it looked like. Not sensing it anymore, she moved on and went looking for more enemies to cut down.

"TAKE THIS YOU EVIL BITCH!" cried a goon as several of them emerged from behind and used magic projectiles that aimed for Ryuko.

"I found you…" Ryuko dragged on her words in an unsettling manner. She jumped over the projectiles and rushed forward into the group, sending them flying into trees. Seeing that they were still alive, Ryuko stabbed one of them five times in the stomach, killing him and spraying blood all over the place. She jumped on top of another goon who was trying to get up and run, and then stabbed him in the neck. She swirled the sword around in his throat for a little; playing with his corpse.

One of the other goons ran up to her and tried to king-hit her. But she dodged by bending forward, turning around, and then slicing his upper body, leaving a massive gash as he fell to the ground with a look of fear on his face.

Ryuko walked up to him slowly and asked, "Tell me something. Do you want me to gut you slowly, or would you like me to gouge your eyes out?"

The goon screamed and tried to back away. "Stay back…! Stay back! STAY BAAAAAAACK!"

"Oh I know…" Ryuko smirked wider. "How about I do both at the same time?"

"No…! Please! DON'T KILL ME!"

Ryuko raised her blade above her head. "I hope you scream more as I enjoy myself." She laughed madly as she went to bring down the sword into the goon's gut-

And was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by a mysterious figure. The figure knocked her out with a punch to the back of her head.

The figure stood up slowly, and spoke (his voice modulated from the mask), "What is a monster like her doing running around free?" It was Zero, the leader of the Black Knights. He looked at the goon who just about wet himself. He then walked over to another member of the Alliance and dragged him over to his friend. "Patch him up now," he told him. "That woman won't stay down for long. I suggest you run away as fast as you can. I'll move her for now, but there won't be any certainty that she'll keep going after you when she wakes up." He walked over to Ryuko's unconscious body and picked her up onto his shoulder. He started walking off, the Black Knights following him closely.

* * *

Ryuko slowly opened her eyes as she stared up at the sky. How long was she unconscious for? She didn't know. But if she was knocked out, then she has to hurry up and finish off the rest of the forces. She sat up and tried looking for any sign of life.

She found and sensed nothing.

_Perhaps they ran away_, Ryuko theorised. And she was right. One-third of the Baram Alliance retreated, in fear of getting killed by her when she acts crazy. At this point, her sword has already sunk back into her skin. She was sane, for now. She got up and sensed Tsumibito fighting Jellal, Andreas and Reiji at the same time.

She figured that if all of the forces have been dealt with, she can run over to the fight and find an opening when she sees it. Satisfied with the idea, she hid herself as best as possible.

* * *

"Tch… Fine." Tsumibito used Shatter on himself to undo Jellal's Bind Snake. "If that's how you want to play, then let's go!" He flew upwards at a blinding speed.

Jellal bolted high into the air and came down at the speed of a meteor, which Tsumibito _barely_ blocked with his white magic shield. With a 'sphere' in his hand charged, he fired the white beam in Jellal's direction.

But Jellal dodged. And Andreas jumped high into the air (propelled further because of Reiji's Wind Magic), and with his six arms, fired blasts of Mantra Magic at Tsumibito as he got closer. Tsumibito 'stepped' out of the firing range and tried White Judgement on him.

Reiji was playing the role of 'support', so he was able to make wind barriers for Andreas, preventing him from getting cut up.

Tsumibito scowled. This was getting ridiculous. _Lelouch must have set this up. Yes… He's the only one who can rally together strong wizards that can work together so well._ He drew out his 'knives' and went straight for Reiji (who was flying right now) to stop him from further disrupting Tsumibito's attacks.

But Jellal knew this would happen. So he crossed his arms over his body, his index and middle fingers kept together while the other fingers formed a fist, and then fired heavenly beams at Tsumibito as he threw his arms out and back to his side. Tsumibito 'stepped' to get behind Jellal and stab him instead.

Jellal turned around and caught Tsumibito's wrist.

"!"

"Too slow," said Jellal as he, again, used Bind Snake subtly on him. He figured that Lelouch would need assistance to hold Tsumibito down for later.

Tsumibito 'stepped' out of Jellal's grasp (backing off a fair distance as well) and charged a 'sphere' in his right hand.

But before he could fire, Andreas came back and grabbed Tsumibito by his sides. He threw him across the air to their left sides.

Ryuko found her opportunity to strike. Quickly summoning her sword, she leapt into the air and went to decapitate Tsumibito with a scary smile on her face.

Tsumibito blocked with his magic shield and 'stepped' behind her, and went to stab her through the heart-

But Reiji flew over and launched a giant blast of Wind Magic into Tsumibito, disorientating him as he got away from the two wizards. Ryuko and Andreas descended back to the ground. She withdrew her sword, keeping in mind that it could still take over her body if it was out for too long.

Lelouch made his move.

After obliterating the last of Tsumibito's remaining forces, he made his way to Tsumibito and the Generals. He was glad the Generals were holding Tsumibito back, preventing him from using Geass.

Andreas jumped back up to fight Tsumibito, while Jellal flew downwards, sensing Lelouch's presence nearby. The other wizards who were in the air sensed him too and they descended as well.

Lelouch flew at Tsumibito, who noticed him. _Lelouch, so you came after all. Even though I left you with all those gashes on your body, you still have the strength to move, let alone fly._

Lelouch 'stepped' as Tsumibito got ready to attack.

"!" _What?_

Lelouch reappeared behind Tsumibito, who sensed it, but realised he couldn't move again. _Damn it! Jellal used that stupid spell on me!_

Lelouch sliced downwards on Tsumibito's back.

"!" Tsumibito felt the attack. "D-Damn it…!" He turned to face Lelouch, and then blacked out as he fell.

It was then that Shokan and Zeref appeared.

* * *

The previews are over. The Magic Clock will conclude ticking soon.

End of Chapter 17

**(A/N: Ryuko scared the shit out of me.**

**I will admit I made Ryuko too creepy for me to stand. It's a wonder I could write stuff like I did. But anyway, I think all of you have noticed that the quality of the fights dropped over time.**

**Well, you're pretty much right.**

**It's not like I tried to make them bad on purpose; it's just that I couldn't come up with anything more that will fit into the timeline I set up and still feel fun. Besides, none of the fights after the fourth one were as well done if you ask me. Sorry, but you would've had to read all of these chapters. Otherwise, you will miss out on important character development later on.**

**Let me talk about the conclusion of this arc and the next…**

**I considered merging the two together, but there's a problem with that. Chapter 19 is in first-person, and it's meant to be this way because **_**Lelouch of the Absence**_** is in first-person. So I wanted to keep that the same. **_**Turn Back the Magic Clock**_** is in third-person. So really, there's no real point. In short, chapter 19 will be small. I cannot possibly extend it without switching tenses. I don't like that, so I won't do it.**

**One last chapter and we'll be finished with this arc for good. Stick around for a while, and leave a review while you're at it. And here's an omake for you that's inspired by a picture I saw for the game **_**Asura's Wrath**_** when I looked at the Crowning Moment of Funny page on TV Tropes. Check out the entry if you can.)**

* * *

Omake: Andreas Rokubuki – A Day at Work **(Doesn't have a set chapter, so it can't happen in canon)**

Andreas has never felt so out of place in his whole life.

Three things happened to him: one, he was sucked into a random portal in the middle of nowhere; two, he was given something called a 'job', had a car, and was wearing a suit (which was barely held together because of his muscular physique); and finally, three, he was driving in the middle of a traffic jam in a large city.

It's safe to say that he was not amused. In fact, he was very, _very_, pissed.

So there he was at an intersection, the stoplight glowing red, with one car to his right and its driver's window down. Andreas wanted to indicate right as well into the next street. So he turned on his right indicator. But then he remembered. His right indicator didn't work for shit.

Andreas sighed heavily. He figured he'll have to stick his hand out the window. He was sitting on the right side of his car, seeing as how it was an import.

The problem with moving his arm in this car is that the car itself was fucking tiny. So tiny, in fact, that his back was literally touching the roof of the vehicle. He tried (very patiently) reaching for the button to lower the window next to him.

Pressing the wrong button, he opened the window for the other side of his car instead. He wound it back up and tried another button. It opened a window on the same side as him, but it was for the other door. Andreas growled in frustration.

Here's the problem with technology today.

There are so many fucking buttons for doing simple shit that it's _impossible_ to memorise what each and every individual button does. Or at least, that's what Andreas thought. Finally hitting the right button, the window next to him wound down, and the stoplight turned green.

Andreas shoved his right arm out of the window to indicate and, without meaning to, knocked out the driver next to him. Andreas didn't notice, nor would he have cared. It was from this day that Andreas swore he would never drive to work again, starting tomorrow.

So he arrived at work, got out of his car (which took him half an hour to park in an open spot; along with a full list of colourful words directed at other drivers from his mouth) and walked all the way to his office. As he sat at his desk, he pondered the situation he was in. How the hell did he adjust to this new life so quickly? How the hell did he get there in the first place?

He decided on the idea that life liked to fuck you over once in a while just to get a reaction from you. Doesn't sound too far off from the truth, does it?

Half an hour passed and he was busy doing paperwork while drinking coffee. It was going to be a long day, so Andreas decided to stop the paperwork and walk around for a little bit in his office. It was then someone knocked on his door.

"Come in," he said. It was the first time this morning that he spoke.

A young girl wearing typical work wear walked in with a pile of paper in her hand. She was a brunette. "Hello sir," she spoke.

Andreas nodded.

"I have a document you need to sign to confirm that you'll be going on the upcoming business trip in two weeks." She pulled out a slip of paper and held it out to him.

He walked over to her and took the document. He scanned the paper and noticed something. "Miss Shirayuki."

"Yes?"

"We work in a multi-million dollar company that sells products to the common public, correct?" Whoa, where did this knowledge come from?

"That's right."

"So if this is a business trip, why does it say I'm invited to your distant cousin's 21st birthday?"

"Well because…" She paused and blushed slightly. "I wanted to go with you next to me. Everyone else who works here are bringing dates with them, and you and I don't have one. So…"

Andreas sighed. _Great,_ he thought sarcastically. _First I got stuck in a traffic jam, I took half a god-damn fucking hour trying to find a parking spot, and then I was invited to some stranger's birthday party, and what's worse, is that the woman who invited me has a god-damn crush on me. Perfect. Just perfect!_ "I'll go with you," he accepted, albeit hesitantly.

Miss Shirayuki lit up. "Oh thank you!" She bowed and turned to leave Andreas' office. "Bye," she said cheerfully as she turned around and waved at him. She was gone.

Andreas looked at the invitation and sighed heavily again (been doing that a lot lately). He folded the paper twice and put it in his blazer pocket. He walked back to his desk and decided to finish paperwork early.

There was another knock forty minutes later.

Andreas called out, "Come in."

It was his boss. The guy was old, to say the least. If he had more hair he could probably get away with saying he was Anthony Hopkins. "Hello Andreas." He had the accent too. How nice.

"Hello boss," Andreas said back, looking up from his paperwork (which he was almost done with).

"I was wondering if you could assist me with something," the old man requested.

"The bathroom door won't open again?"

"…" Andreas' boss stared for a while. "Yeah…"

Andreas sighed and got up from his desk. "Okay… I'm almost done with paperwork at the moment anyway."

* * *

A loud bang was heard throughout the building's floor as Andreas kicked the bathroom door down a _little_ too hard.

Okay, so he smashed it into pieces.

Everyone in the office looked at Andreas from around the corner.

Andreas stared at them. And then at the door. He stared back at the others. And then back to the door. "…" There wasn't much to say, except maybe… "Oops," he muttered.

His boss almost pissed his pants just from the noise. He walked calmly to the bathroom without saying a word. Maybe he'll let Andreas off just this once (for the hundredth time, anyway). He pondered how much it would cost this time to fix the door. Well maybe if they made a better door to begin with, Andreas wouldn't keep costing the company more money.

It's not like he tried to break everything he touched. It's just that Andreas was too strong to consciously control his strength. Being powerful sucked.

Feeling embarrassed, Andreas calmly walked back to his office and closed the door behind him.

That was a typical day for Andreas at this point in his life. Perhaps getting back to Earth Land will have to wait for now. _Fuck me_, he thought as he sat back in his seat and sighed.

There was another knock on the door…

Very_ long_ day sounds more accurate, don't you agree?

End of Omake


	18. Turn Back the Magic Clock Finale

Chapter 18: Turn Back the Magic Clock – Finale

**(A/N: How've you been, everyone? I will now conclude this arc with this chapter. I don't have anything to say here, so please continue with reading. I recommend "Sadness and Sorrow" from the **_**Naruto**_** OST.)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass**_**, **_**Fairy Tail**_**, or any of the original design for the expies.**

* * *

_SLASH!_

Lelouch and Tsumibito were suspended in the air as they appeared on opposite ends of each other, swords still drawn out. Both men stayed silent for what felt like an eternity. But then…

A large gash spurted out blood from the right hip to his left shoulder. Lelouch's wings disappeared along with his sword. And he proceeded to fall into the forest.

Tsumibito made his sword disappear. And then a large gash cut across his stomach. Tsumibito winced from the pain as he elevated downwards into the forest as well. He sensed Shokan has lost the battle. Landing on the ground, Tsumibito decided to wait until the Generals have left.

If he would admit anything about this battle, it was a draw.

The Generals rushed over to Lelouch to catch him from his falling as the rain subsided.

"Hold on Lelouch!" Reiji called as he summoned wind to catch their commander as he almost hit the ground.

"Not good…" muttered Andreas as he and everyone else made it to Lelouch.

He wasn't conscious, but he was also barely alive.

"Do we have any medical supplies anywhere?" Reiji asked.

"Afraid not," replied Ryuko. "But at this rate, he's going to bleed to death."

"Damn it…" Reiji started losing his cool. "Can we do anything?"

Ryuko had something in mind, but it was very risky and could kill Lelouch if his magic couldn't balance it out. But if she didn't do it, Lelouch would just bleed out.

"Ryuko…?" Andreas looked at her.

Ryuko sighed. She had no choice. "There is something we can do for him. But…"

"But?" Reiji looked at the Saika Magic user with a worried look on his face.

"I need Andreas to hold me down."

"What are you planning, Ryuko?" Andreas asked, a little concerned about what she was asking him to do.

"My magic… It's very much alive inside of me."

"It is?" Reiji was surprised. "So that's why…"

"Yes," Ryuko answered. "That's why when I use my sword I lose my sanity. But now's not the time to discuss that." She walked over to Lelouch and raised her right hand above his wound. "Andreas, hold me down now."

"Wait a second," Reiji said. "How exactly will this work?"

Ryuko explained. "When the magic that oozes from my hand enters his body, the magic will act like a life force for as long as I leave it in him. But the problem with this is if his magic energy can't control it fast enough, then he'll wake up, go insane and never recover from it. But if his magic is powerful enough, then all my magic will do is keep him alive until he can sustain himself."

Reiji was very nervous about this. But he could see what Ryuko was trying to do. "Alright then. If it turns for the worst, we'll have to kill him ourselves."

Andreas quietly walked over to Ryuko and held her back. "I'm ready."

Ryuko nodded as the ooze started dripping from her fingertips. Her insane tendencies were kicking in. She struggled against Andreas' strong hold. The sight of blood on Lelouch made Ryuko want to splash more of it all over the place.

The first drop fell on Lelouch's bare chest. It spread a little until it seeped into his most recent wound.

Ryuko struggled more as her magic kept on dripping on Lelouch.

_Come on, Lelouch,_ Reiji thought. _Don't die on us now._

"Damn it Ryuko…" Andreas whispered. "What caused you to become like this?"

Ryuko's hand was now depleted of the dark red ooze as her sanity came back to her. Andreas let her go, noticing that she stopped struggling.

Everyone looked at Lelouch as his magic became erratic. It was either reaching an all-time high, or it was peaking so low that it became hard to detect. His magic flared over his scars.

Ryuko sighed in relief. "It's working," she told the other Generals.

The other Generals lit up a little, glad that their comrade was still alive and kicking. Reiji held Lelouch under the shoulder blades as he made his wind dissipate.

"Come on," Reiji told the others. "Jellal will be waiting for us."

They nodded as they made their way to their other ally with Lelouch in tow.

* * *

"If you truly believe that, then do what you want with your life, Shokan." That was the last thing Jellal said to Shokan as he walked over to his comrades with Lelouch's arms over their shoulders.

"How is he?" Jellal asked as he tried standing up straight, arriving in front of the other Generals.

"He'll be fine," said Ryuko.

Jellal closed his eyes. "I see."

"Still, you got to admit," Reiji brought up. "For someone who is so physically weak, he is one brave guy to take on two powerful wizards by himself in that kind of condition."

Andreas nodded. "I agree. I have never met such a young man with as much drive as he does."

Ryuko and Jellal stayed silent, seeing how there were no more words to say.

"So then…" Reiji changed the topic. "Where do we head off to now?"

Jellal said, "I say we head to the branch building over there." He pointed at the direction it was in.

"That's about all we can do right now," Ryuko said.

Everyone nodded as they made their way to it.

* * *

When the Generals left the area Shokan laid, Tsumibito 'stepped' over there himself. "Shokan," he called as he appeared next to him. "We're retreating. This battle is over."

Shokan opened his eyes to the sound of Tsumibito's voice. "Tsumibito… I…"

Tsumibito looked at his ally calmly. He closed his eyes and turned around, facing away from Shokan. "What will you do, Shokan?"

"?"

"Will you continue to follow the path I do, or will you leave this path now and search for a new goal in life?"

What was Tsumibito thinking? Shokan always believed in following him to see him change history. Why was he giving him an opportunity to back out now?

Tsumibito explained. "I don't want to drag you down with me if you aren't willing to see this through."

"But… Why exactly are you asking me this…?"

Tsumibito admitted, "Because… You're the only friend I have now. Everyone who I was friends with are no longer here. So apart from you, I'm alone."

Shokan thought he saw his 'brother' Jordan before his eyes.

"As a friend, you are allowed to choose what to do with your life." He turned back to Shokan. "So I will ask again: will you join me as I create an empire under my ultimate dominion, or will you stop here?" Tsumibito held out his left hand as if handing the question over to Shokan literally. "If you're leaving, now is the time."

Shokan did consider his choices. Sure, leaving now would save him the danger of possibly getting killed. But leaving Tsumibito would mean, according to what he said, that Tsumibito will pretty much be alone.

Accepting the fact that Tsumibito admitted Shokan was his friend, he chose the option he knew he'll forever stick to. "I will follow you to Hell and back, Tsumibito. Nothing will stop me from helping you change the history of the world."

Tsumibito smiled genuinely. "Good to hear." He tried sensing Zeref's magic energy. After locating him, he said to Shokan, "We need to pick up Zeref. He's not too far from here."

Shokan tried getting up with his working arm, but found he could hardly move.

Tsumibito knelt down and pulled Shokan's left arm over his shoulder. Getting up, he commented, "You look like hell."

Shokan, for the first time in a long time, smiled like a normal human being. "I could say the same about you."

They both chuckled lightly as Tsumibito 'stepped' with Shokan to Zeref. Soon after that, they headed back to the Baram Alliance headquarters.

* * *

Zero regained consciousness, and noticed many figures standing over him. Getting up, he realised that his mask was missing. In too much pain to care right now, he said to the figures, "I guess that means my secret is out. Wouldn't you agree, my Black Knights?"

Indeed, the bruised and battered Black Knights were staring at Zero. Wakabe was holding Zero's mask. Laki, Alzack, Bisca, Nab, Vijeeter, Macao, Max and Reedus were all assembled as well.

"Zero," said Macao. "We all have something to say to you." Everyone has decided that Macao should say to Zero what they discussed and agreed upon.

"And what would that be?" Zero asked as he stood up completely, his magic almost completely depleted. He didn't have enough to maintain his armour. His float system wasn't there at the moment.

Wakabe threw the mask at him, and Zero caught it.

"What is this?" Zero questioned.

Macao said one last thing to Zero. "Leave Fairy Tail immediately. Never come back to us for the rest of your life."

"!" Zero was being kicked out of his own army. This made it twice. "You can't be serious!"

No-one said anything else to Zero.

"You fools! Who's going to stop Tsumibito and the Baram Alliance when I'm not there to help you? Don't you _get it_? Without me, all of you are either going to die or be conquered by that _monster_! You need me!"

Again, none of the Black Knights said anything in response.

Zero, if he had a face, would be scowling in anger. He put his mask back on and walked away in frustration. "Fine! Have it your way!" He stopped and turned his head to look at the others. "Don't come back to me begging for my help when you realise the mistake you just made, _Fairy Tail_!" He summoned his float system and flew off, never to be seen by the Fairy Tail guild members ever again.

The wizards headed back to Magnolia. Breaking the news to the others wasn't going to be very easy.

* * *

The date was now the 24th of March of the same year.

Luckily for the Generals, the Magic Council Fiore Branch building had medical supplies and food and water to help everyone survive for a few weeks. They even found some temporary clothing to help keep them warm at night. The atmosphere was pretty gloomy for quite a while.

It was because Lelouch has been in a coma ever since the battle two weeks ago. And Kishi's body was kept clean with Ryuko's magic. It was pretty hard to maintain a dead body for so long.

The Generals were sitting around a fire they managed to start in an empty room that was too dark to make out what it looked like. Lelouch was kept close to the fire with a blanket over his body. They already ate some food, washed Lelouch's body, and then redressed his wounds with new bandages. Ryuko also took her magic out of his body once Lelouch recovered his magic energy (but then had to put it back into Kishi to make sure she didn't rot). Now all they had to do was wait quietly for Lelouch to wake up.

Lelouch, meanwhile, was trapped in a very long dream. He's been talking with Suzaku through a strange connection they had about what was happening back in his home world. And when Suzaku went away, Lelouch formulated new plans for the future. One of his plans was based on the idea that Zero was kicked out of the Black Knights and that when he was ready to be forgiven, he would take over as Guild Master. That was one way to increase his army's power.

Not to mention it would keep the guild intact for when Makarov and the others come back from Heaven Wolf Island. But too bad Lelouch didn't know when that day would come. So just in case, he thought up of more plans as back-ups. However, his best plan was much more diverse and difficult to pull off.

To succeed with the plan in the long run, he and the Generals would have to leave Fiore for a long time.

The difficult part about this plan was that the Baram Alliance might conquer the country. Meaning when Lelouch and the Generals were to come back, they would have great difficulty getting through to Tsumibito. The Black Knights might have trouble holding the man off for such a long time. But Lelouch trusted them and the other official guilds to do what they could to stop such an event happening.

But before Lelouch and the Generals could leave, they had to bury Kishi's body.

Kishi was on Lelouch's mind for a long time too. He remembered all of the things they did together. The travels, the conversations, and the love they shared with each other. But he also remembered the Christmas present she gave him. He was still wearing it now, even in his dream state he could feel the cold jewellery pressed against his body.

Lelouch knew he had to wake up from this coma he had. He had a mission to fulfil: to stop Tsumibito from conquering all of Earth Land, and eventually the world. Even if he had to get his hands dirty, Lelouch was willing to take any means necessary to stop the Baram Alliance leader's aspiring dictatorship.

He was even willing to die to meet that end.

Lelouch stirred a little, catching the attention of the other Generals. He slowly opened his eyes and felt the warmth of the blanket covering his body, and the burning flame that was next to him. He was awake for the first time in a fortnight.

"Hey… Lelouch…" Jellal crawled over to his ally. Lelouch could see him clearly. "Do you remember me?"

Lelouch blinked softly and whispered, "Jellal… You're alive…"

He nodded. "So is everyone else. Take a look when you're ready."

Lelouch blinked again and sat up slowly. The fire provided enough light for Lelouch to see Andreas, Ryuko and Reiji sitting around the burning flames. "You're all okay…" Lelouch said softly. He was still pretty tired.

They all nodded.

"But wait… Where's Kishi's…?"

"We're preserving her body as best we can," Ryuko answered. "But my magic is starting to run out. We need to leave this building soon so we could properly bury her."

Lelouch then remembered the plan he came up with. "Speaking of leaving…"

Lelouch explained to the Generals their next course of action they should take. None of the Generals argued with him, agreeing that the plan was good. They didn't mind a little travelling.

"Alright then…" Lelouch closed his eyes. "Do we all know what to do from now on?"

"Yes," the Generals said simultaneously as they nodded their heads.

"Good. We'll head out tomorrow. Go and collect some cloaks for all of us to wear. We're going to need them."

"I'll do it," Ryuko offered and left to find some clothing.

"I'll get you some food," Reiji said as he got up and went to get some fresh food for Lelouch.

"I'll get some wood for the fire." Andrea also got up and walked off.

Jellal stayed put. He and Lelouch were alone.

"You know…" Jellal began a conversation.

"Hmm?"

"During the last fortnight when you were unconscious…"

Lelouch flinched at that. _I was out for a fortnight?_ That worried him a little.

"Aside from talking about ourselves, all of us were talking about you."

"You were?"

Jellal nodded and smiled. "We're all quite proud of you. None of us have ever seen a person with as much determination and drive like you. Not to mention you're probably the fastest strategic planner we know of."

Lelouch was touched by Jellal's complimenting words. He was very glad he chose these people as his Generals. They were not only strong, but deep down, they all had good hearts too. Lelouch remembered their profiles he memorised. _You know what? I don't care that they were criminals. Deep down, I'd rather call them…_ Perhaps he'll say it out loud. "I have something to tell you."

Jellal paid attention.

"At first, I gathered you all together because I thought I could trust all of your capabilities as fighters." He closed his eyes. "But now I realised…" He continued speaking as he opened his eyes again. "You're not just pawns on a chess board. I think, that deep down, I can honestly call you all my friends. After all, you took care of me when my life was in danger."

Jellal felt good. For the first time since he was a little kid, he felt good about himself. He thought to himself that Lelouch was a good friend to him and everyone else as well.

"And so…" Lelouch continued. "I just want to say this." He smiled. "Thank you. For everything you've done for me."

Ryuko, Andreas and Reiji were listening to what everything Lelouch said in secret, having found everything they said they would retrieve. They were as touched as Jellal was. They admitted to themselves that everyone were actually pretty good friends with one another. They all walked back into the room, doing what they needed to.

* * *

And as Lelouch suggested, they carried Kishi's body, and they left the battlefield by the morning. They found a burial place for Kishi, made a gravestone, and after taking out Ryuko's magic from her body, they buried her. But that will be looked at more thoroughly later.

* * *

Tsumibito, Shokan and Zeref arrived at a beach on the 25th. The three of them were staring out to the ocean. Tsumibito brought the both of them here to tell them the news. He himself was wearing some new attire, much like Shokan.

Tsumibito was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with three buttons around the collarbone area that went down to his chest. He also wore some black baggy pants and some classy black shoes. Shokan, instead of the blue coat he used to have, was wearing a red form-fitting shirt, showing off the definition in his muscle. He also had the black pants and boots. He wore an arm sling for his broken right arm.

"Master Tsumibito," said Zeref.

"What is it, Zeref?" Tsumibito asked.

"Why are we here, looking out at the ocean?"

Tsumibito thought of what to say and replied, "Out there will be our new base of operations."

"Where exactly?" Shokan asked.

"There are two islands far off the coast in this direction. One of them is the legendary Isle of the Dragons; the one place that legend says the dragons used to reside to because of the massive volcano on it."

"And what's the second island?" Zeref asked.

"It used to belong to a very famous wizard about fifty years ago. However, with no-one left to inherit the castle he built on it, the island has been deserted after his death ever since."

"So then…" Shokan looked at Tsumibito. He had the deadpan expression again. "You plan to take it for yourself."

Tsumibito chuckled. "Well it's not like anyone would care at this point. After all, the remaining forces I command are still fighting as we speak. While they do that, it would be to our advantage if we seize some unmanned ground in secret for the time being."

"How long are we going to keep it?" Shokan asked.

"For as long as possible," answered Tsumibito. "We're going to need to gather a couple of hundred men to occupy the empty space as well."

"So it will be like a fortress," Zeref guessed.

"Correct," Tsumibito confirmed. _If my suspicions are correct, then Zero has been kicked out of the Black Knights, which would explain why they aren't doing anything to fight back against my Alliance. But the only problem is Lelouch. After the battle we had, I couldn't find him anywhere. If he's dead…_ Tsumibito smirked at what that would mean for him. _Then that means I have one less obstacle to overcome. And soon, I shall become Emperor once again!_ He chuckled a little.

"Something funny, Tsumibito?" Shokan asked his friend.

"Yes, actually. Don't you find it strange that we've been through so much already? After all, it's only been a little over a year, hasn't it? Since I joined Grimoire Heart? Just look at how far we've come now. I have done more in one year than the Baram Alliance has since it was first established."

Shokan thought about this. Tsumibito was right. The man has joined the former Seven Kin of Purgatory -the top members of Grimoire Heart- not too long after having joined the dark guild itself. He launched an organised attack on Fairy Tail on Heaven Wolf Island in what would be a record time. He even recruited the dark wizard Zeref; the one person the Baram Alliance has been trying to resurrect for years, if not decades. Of course, if it wasn't for Geass, Tsumibito would've been dead a while ago, along with Shokan.

And he did all of these things in less than seventy weeks.

"I don't think it's strange at all," Shokan answered honestly. "I don't mean to give you an ego boost, but perhaps it's natural for you to accomplish so much so quickly."

Tsumibito looked at Shokan with a poker face.

"It's just speculation of course, but that's what I believe."

Tsumibito smiled. "You're absolutely right, Shokan."

"So I ended up giving you an ego boost anyway. Yeah that's fair."

Tsumibito laughed. "No no. I'm not doing anything of the sort."

"So then how am I correct about you?" Shokan asked Tsumibito. "Why is it natural?"

Tsumibito remembered what he said to Shokan the day Lelouch arrived in Magnolia. He was telling the truth back then, but he was also hiding something. So he decided to let it out today. Tsumibito looked back at the ocean. He asked Shokan one question.

"Have you ever heard of a place, called Edolas?"

* * *

Zero was full of rage.

This was the second time he was left to be alone. His first Black Knights back at Lelouch's home world betrayed him (thanks to Schneizel). And now he was kicked out _again_, by a bunch of weak wizards! How could they kick him out after all of that time and effort he put into making them an organised army to fight the Baram Alliance? It wasn't like they were going to be alone. Zero planned to recruit the rest of the official guilds as well so that they had a greater chance of winning.

Zero couldn't understand them back then, not now, and he admits at this point, he doesn't want to in the future either.

He used his Geass on a tailor in a clothes shop during his lone travelling to fix his outfit for him. If there was one thing Zero kept, it was his signature outfit he's worn since the very beginning. After he walked off without having to pay a single jewel, Zero flew into the air to look for a place to stay.

He didn't care about the Baram Alliance. He didn't care for Fairy Tail. All he cared about now was killing Tsumibito. Nothing was going to get in his way; not even Lelouch (wherever he was).

So he swore to himself that he would get strong enough to take the bastard on by himself. He would neutralise Zeref. He would smash Shokan into pieces. And when that plan succeeds like he knew it would, he would kick Tsumibito into the curb, and then blow his head off. But to carry out this plan, he would need to train himself. Who knows, maybe he would learn some new magic if needed. Or maybe not. Knightmare Magic was strong on its own, so what was the use of more magic?

No, he would train himself in espionage and close-quarter combat. That was needed the most; Knightmare Magic could come later. Maybe with his brilliant mind, he could invent some gadgets too. Yeah, he won't even _need_ to use magic to take down Tsumibito's forces; he could save the magic for the man himself, after he realises Zero would have him backed into a corner with no way out.

Zero stopped flying and began to chuckle slowly. He then went into full-on laughing. It was all so clear to him now. All this time, Zero has wasted his time trying to create an army to combat another army. It was so pointless. Why do that when Zero was strong and smart enough to take them on by himself? The Baram Alliance really just composed of a bunch of stupid fools who couldn't tell left from right. Fairy Tail was naïve and incompetent. Just look at their battle with Shokan; they were slaughtered.

If Zero was by himself, he would've handled the job so much better.

After he stopped laughing, he said to himself, "Yes…! From this moment forward, the Black King known as Zero will now complete all tasks at hand _alone_!"

It was now official; Zero has passed the point of no return. There was no turning back for him now. After all, the black king on the chess board has lost all of his pieces.

* * *

It took Tsumibito only five days to get his troops onto what was now named the Isle of Sin, which derived from his name (which meant 'sinner').

The castle was typically medieval-styled, and was surrounded by a huge forest (it was an island, after all). Inside were about twenty floors; the top floor being where Tsumibito sat in his throne. It was black and had demonic markings all over it. The room Tsumibito was in had glass-stained windows that were displayed all over the long hallway that was the room, with a purple rug stretching across the entire length of the floor. It was night-time, and Tsumibito remarked amusingly the scenery made him look like an evil overlord.

His clothing changed again. He was now wearing a black suit of armour. The shoulders were spiked, and the chest plate pointed outwards in the centre. His boots and gauntlets were also pointed at the ends. He wore a large cape as well, black in colour. On his right arm rest was a helmet. The helmet sort of resembled that of a dragon's head.

At the moment, Tsumibito was slouching comfortably in his throne. Shokan entered the room through the large doors.

Shokan also changed his attire, but still had the arm sling. He kept the pants and the boots, but he was now wearing a silver haori. He approached the stairs in front of Tsumibito's throne and got down onto his left knee with his right arm across his chest. This was something Tsumibito showed him to do.

"At ease, Shokan," Tsumibito ordered.

"As you wish," said Shokan as he got up from kneeling and looked at Tsumibito.

"I thought I told you before; you only have to do that when there are other people around. It's just you and me in this room."

"Sorry about that," Shokan said stoically. "It's becoming a bit of a habit."

"Not to worry." Tsumibito decided to change the subject at hand. "Where is Zeref?"

"He'll be here shortly."

"I see."

"So then, Tsumibito…"

"I also told you that you don't have to call me that when we're alone. I told you my real name, remember?"

"Again, I'm sorry," said Shokan. "You've been using that name for a long time now."

"You're right. I've used it since I arrived here, since I knew Lelouch would come here eventually. That would've caused some confusion."

Zeref arrived as soon as Tsumibito finished his sentence. His attire hasn't changed. Shokan walked up the steps and stood next to Tsumibito's right side so Zeref could bow down. As he did, he said, "I have arrived, Master Tsumibito. Forgive my lateness; some members of the Baram Alliance got in my way."

"You didn't kill them without my permission, did you?" Tsumibito looked a little concerned.

"Of course not, Master. You've specifically told me not to."

"Good," said Tsumibito as he relaxed again. "So I take it everyone is organised and comfortable in their new positions."

"Yes, Master."

"How are the rest of the forces doing back on Fiore?"

"Our means of communication is still held together. At the moment, the enemy has declared a cease-fire with us. Now we are waiting for you to accept it."

_Ah yes,_ Tsumibito thought with a smirk. _I knew this would eventually happen. They were all hoping Zero and the Black Knights would deal with me. Now all of a sudden they were thrown into the fray; at least quicker than they were expecting._ But it wasn't like Tsumibito didn't see a cease-fire being a good idea. Even his forces needed to grow and be reorganised. "I accept the cease-fire. Make sure what I said will relay throughout Fiore."

"At once, Master Tsumibito." Zeref got up from kneeling and walked out of the room, closing the door.

"Can I ask you something?" said Shokan.

"What is it?"

"Why did you make Zeref keep calling you by that name?"

"Why not?" Tsumibito said to his friend.

Shokan smirked a little. "You're quite secretive with others, aren't you?"

"That's right…" Tsumibito got up from his throne and walked to the stairs. "For my real name is _Lelouch vi Britannia_!" He threw his arms out and held them in the air. "And as future Emperor of Earth Land, I hereby declare the land I will claim for myself to be renamed as Britannia, which shall be united under my Holy Empire!" His brilliant laugh reverberated throughout the entire castle.

* * *

The clock has now rewound back to the present. One last story must now conclude before a new tale can begin. Let it be known now that this tale has drawn to a close.

End of Chapter 18

**(A/N: You get it? If not, don't worry. I'll explain what happened with Tsumibito and Zero in full when the new arc begins anyway.**

**So now **_**Turn Back the Magic Clock**_** has officially finished. Tell me what you all thought of it. I'm interested to read what you all have to say.**

**By the time you read these notes, the next chapter would have been posted. That's right; today's a double feature for chapters.**

**But back to what you want me to talk about…**

**You can come to your own conclusions about what you've just read, but I'm not going to confirm anything any of you say. Sorry! You'll have to wait until I write the chapter and post it.**

**Thank you for sticking with me up to this point. I hope you keep reading this through to the end.)**


	19. Goodbye, Kishi Barasono

Chapter 19: Goodbye, Kishi Barasono

**(A/N: I'll be honest: Kishi's death really hurt me. I assume everyone else felt the same way about her death. So here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to dedicate this chapter to Kishi's funeral and a little more of the story; important, mind you. I'm doing it in first-person like with the previous chapters before the **_**Turn Back the Magic Clock **_**arc. It'll stay like this for just this chapter. After you read this chapter, it's third-person all the way, in past tense.**

**I hope this chapter is effective in making you feel sad.)**

**March 31, X 785; First-person, Lelouch Lamperouge**

* * *

Anger… Despair… Loneliness… Sadness… Angst…

Emptiness…

This is everything I am feeling right now as I look down at my necklace. Yes… It's the very same necklace that I got last Christmas. It's the first gift I can ever remember receiving.

And Kishi Barasono gave it to me.

The Great Wizard Generals and I are standing on top of a hill in the mountain area of Fiore. In front of us lies an open forest, full of life and freedom. Apart from the risk of rain in the clouds, the view would be perfectly normal.

Kishi's gravestone stands tall in front of the view.

_Kishi… I-_

Jellal places a hand on my shoulder and says, "Are you ready?"

I slowly turn my head to meet his eyes. "Yes…" I mutter.

"Come on. I'll walk with you." Jellal and I walk closer to the grave. We agreed beforehand that the ceremony should be simple and short. We need to set our future plans in motion right now as soon as possible. So we can't afford to mourn for very long.

I read the inscription on the stone. It says…

_Kishi Barasono_

_Valuable ally; forever cherished…_

Ryuko actually came up with the inscription. I was too depressed to think about it at the time. I look at Jellal again. "You can step back now…"

"Sure." Jellal nods and walks back to the other Generals.

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. "Thank you all for coming today."

Everyone nods.

"Kishi was… She was very special to me. When I first met her in the capital city, I didn't know my way around. And when I met her in the library…" I choke a little, holding back tears. The memory is very painful to remember. "When I first met her there, we got along pretty well. And soon we…" I choke again, and tears roll down my face. "We began to care for each other-" I start to cry fully.

Ryuko, with tears in her eyes as well, walks up to me and wraps her arm around my shoulders.

Composing myself, I strive onwards. "And now she's gone."

"Lelouch…" Andreas mutters.

"We will _never_… We will never let her death be in vain." I straighten up and look at my Generals with a fiercely determined look in my eyes; yet I'm still crying. "We will, for her sake, avenge her and her family. We will stop the one person responsible for her suffering. _We'll kill Tsumibito_!" I scowl. "I order all of the Generals: cooperate with me! Let's stop Tsumibito _together_! For Kishi! For the people of Fiore!"

"He's right," Reiji says as he walks up to me. "Tsumibito and Zero have been making our friend's life here hell. Let's help him out like he helped us!"

"Reiji…" I mutter.

"I agree." Andreas steps forward. "I'm sure all of us have lost something we hold dear to us. I'll help you stop the both of them, Lelouch."

I feel Ryuko's grip on my shoulders tighten. It must be that she's remembering something she lost as well.

"That's right." Jellal joins in. "We've all lost something in our lives. But that's why we can get along with each other. We can understand each other's pain. So…" Jellal walks over to me and raises his right hand. "Let's end this war together, like Lelouch said."

I look down at his hand.

"What do you say, Lelouch? Are we in this together?" Jellal asks me.

I smile. "Yes…" I shake his right hand. "We are."

* * *

It's sunset.

I'm alone at Kishi's grave. No, I'm not as sad as I was this morning, but I'm still pretty solemn. I drop to my knees and bow my head.

"Kishi… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in this. It was my mistake for not protecting you like I should have." Her last word rings in my head. "But I will live on. I will strive towards making a better future for everyone. I will make it… …so that you would've been happy to live in it too. So I promise you: I will stop Tsumibito _and_ Zero.

"Tyranny is fearful. Terrorism is unsettling. Because of my existence, Fiore's balance of order has been shattered. I will take on the burden of fixing that balance, along with the Generals. I will make sure Fiore can function the same way it has before I arrived here. This is not me being sentimental; this is me fixing what I've caused." _After all, how can I be sentimental if I can't remember most of my past?_ "And so, because of that…" I get up from my knees and raise my right hand, close three fingers, and point my index finger (with my thumb sticking out) into the air.

I smile bravely, despite how heart-broken I feel right now. I feel tears start to surface again. "For you, I will revive Fairy Tail. And when I come back, I will make sure you become an official member." I turn around to walk off for the final time; never to see this grave again until everything is fixed. "Goodbye…" _Kishi Barasono…_ A tear falls down my face as I leave.

* * *

A week passes by…

I'm with my Generals. At the moment, we're along the border of Fiore. Beyond the border is the rest of Earth Land. All of them are wearing black cloaks with hoods that cover our faces, and I'm holding mine in my hand. We can't go around looking like prisoners, can we?

"Man…" Reiji rubs his head. He, like everyone else, isn't wearing the hood on his cloak yet. "I can't believe we're leaving Fiore. It feels weird not being near that prison anymore."

"You'll get used to it," I say to him. "Once I get my hands on a map of Earth Land, we'll find our way around."

"It's not that. It's just…" Reiji turns around in the direction of where we're going. "I've spent most of my adulthood in that prison, and my childhood was in Caelum. Because of that, I feel out of place in the real world now."

_I've felt out of place ever since I woke up in Magnolia, but you don't see me complaining anymore._ I don't say that to him. Instead, I say, "I see."

"So then," says Ryuko. "We're going to let Tsumibito and Zero battle it out?"

"I'm afraid so," I reply. "We aren't strong enough by ourselves. We need to get stronger first. Along with that, we need to find powerful allies that will assist us."

"And some new clothes," Reiji jokes, and we laugh.

I look down at my upper body. I have six scars across the front (one is a massive cut Tsumibito left in our final confrontation that starts from my right hip up to my left shoulder), and four on my back. Seeing these scars makes me feel so… …vulnerable_._ But these scars will always help remind me of the important things. I need to get stronger; both physically and mentally. I need to learn how to use all of my magic power to its fullest. I also need… …to avenge Kishi and her parents. I need to save Fairy Tail. I need to stop Tsumibito and Zero.

And so, because of those things, my Generals and I are willing to leave Fiore.

"Are we ready?" I ask them.

"I'm with you all the way, Lelouch," Andreas replies as he puts his hood over his head.

"So am I." Ryuko puts hers over her head.

"Same here." Reiji smiles as he puts his hood over his head as well.

Jellal says to me, "Before we leave…"

"Hmm?" I turn to face him.

"I found a couple of people who can help us out," he tells me and the Generals.

"You have? Who?" I ask.

"Turn around," Jellal says to me.

I do so, and I-

"!" _No way… They're here?_

"Lelouch!" Meredy runs up and hugs me. She's wearing a sand-coloured cloak over her clothes. "It's so good to see you again!" She smiles at me.

"Me-Meredy…?"

"Hey there Lelouch," Ultear greets as she walks up to us. "What happened to you? You look like hell." She gives me a bright smile as well. She too is wearing a cloak over her clothing.

"But wait…" I mutter. "How is it that…?"

"I knew Ultear back when we worked together," Jellal explains. "I found her and Meredy travelling after we finished… You know…"

I assume he's talking about the funeral. "I see." I look at Meredy, and see her glaring at me. "What's wrong?"

"You _did_ read my book." She glares at me so fiercely I start to feel terrified. "We need to talk. _Alone._"

"Now now, Meredy…" Ultear comes over and pulls Meredy away from me. "You can talk to Lelouch after we find a new place to stay." She lifts her head to look at me. "I assume we're not staying in Fiore."

"For now," I answer.

"But what about Fairy Tail?" she asks me. "Weren't you going to reunite with them?"

Agitated by the thought of them, I turn my back to Ultear and say to her, "They're not the Fairy Tail I remember signing up to."

"So you're abandoning them?" Meredy asks.

"I don't abandon the enemy," I say coolly, and silence falls down on us. _Maybe I'm being a bit too harsh…_ "However… When we come back here, I will make sure they see the mistake they made. And hopefully, Fairy Tail will be revived."

Ultear and Meredy stay silent.

"Lelouch," Jellal says to me. "We should get going before it gets dark. We have all day to get somewhere to fix ourselves up."

I take a deep breath. "You're right." I turn to face Ultear and Meredy as I put my black cloak on. "Are you coming with us?"

They nod in response.

"Good. I'll fill you in on everything along the way." I put my hood over my head, as does Jellal and Ultear and Meredy. I head for the front of the group. "Let's go."

* * *

And we walk. On the 7th of April X 785, we leave Fiore. I will always wonder what will happen with just Tsumibito and Zero fighting. But we have to leave.

Otherwise, at this rate, 'God' will lose to his own creations.

End of Chapter 19

**(A/N: That concludes the **_**Lelouch of the Absence**_** arc. And please don't complain about the length of this chapter; it's as I said before. It's dedicated to her, not much to the story, except for the end. Mind you, that scene is **_**very **_**important, so take note of it later on. And yes: for the second time in his life, Lelouch bowed down to someone. I think it helps show how Lelouch has been acting differently in this story. When you think about it, he only acted this way for so long because he has no memories. So I tried capturing that innocence from when he was a child and make it more diverse and "up to date", shall we say.**

**The final scene is important because Lelouch and his Generals are being put on a bus. The story will now focus on Tsumibito and Zero, and how they'll fight each other in a massive showdown. It. Will. Be. **_**Epic**_**.**

**So look forward to the time-skip. Natsu will be here next chapter after he finishes crying over the funeral. So look forward to that.**

**Before I go, I'll tell you the name of the new arc. You ready? It's called…**

**The **_**Hidden Revelation**_** arc, which will characterise Zero and Tsumibito, and give them back-stories.**

**There will be another hiatus. I'm going to get really busy, so posting will be delayed for quite a while. I won't be writing new chapters until I can manage some free time.**

**See you.)**


	20. Hidden Revelation

Chapter 20: Hidden Revelation

**(A/N: E.E.: Welcome back, Natsu.**

**Natsu: It's good to be back!**

**E.E.: Did you finish all of your crying?**

**Natsu: *pauses* What crying?**

**E.E.: Doesn't matter.**

**Yes fans, after another hiatus, we are finally back; but **_**only**_** just for this chapter until I get back into studying. Regardless, I hope to entertain you as much as possible. Please take note that we're going to get quite a few flashbacks to the pasts of certain characters in this arc; new ones included.**

**Natsu: Ooh, are you talking about the new-**

**E.E.: **_**Shut up, Natsu! The fans will find out soon!**_

**Have fun, everyone. Put please remember that this will be the only chapter you'll see for a while. Oh, and one more thing...**

**A lot of you may have already finished reading this, but it's come to my attention that some of my fans aren't very fond of hardcore violence. So here's what I suggest: read until you see the word 'Bastard', and then skip to the end where it says, 'The last man...' Then continue there.**

**If you don't mind strong violence, then ignore what you may have just read.)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass**_**, **_**Fairy Tail**_**, or any of the original design for the expies.**

* * *

**May 14, X 789**

The waterfall flowed almost without disturbance in the middle of a deep and luscious forest, full of murky dark green trees with clouds overhead, that surrounded the streams, which jumped over the corroded rocks, flowing into a river that was a couple of kilometres away. The waterfall was almost without disturbance, because a lone man wearing simple white pants sat on a rock directly underneath it with his legs crossed.

He was meditating.

The young man, now 23 in the year X 789, let the water flow through his raven black hair (which has been kept slightly longer than what it was years ago). Streams from his scalp dripped over his closed eyes as he remained deep in concentration, appearing to be focusing his magic power and keeping it balanced as he let his mind slip almost into a state of unconsciousness. The water continued to flow down onto his (now developed) upper body, following the lines of his six-pack and the horrible scar going across from his right hip to his left shoulder, and staining his white pants (which concealed his developed legs). The water crawled onto his biceps and down onto the back of his hands, further making the white pants wet.

His name was Lelouch Lamperouge. And he has no knowledge of his past, except for his name, and the mysterious power of Geass. Thanks to four years of training from Andreas Rokubuki (one of his Generals) he now has the same (if not better) physique as an old friend of his who took up his mantle of justice back in his own world. But of course, he doesn't remember this person, even though he talks to him in his dreams. Added to the physique, Andreas taught Lelouch a martial art different from his own. Andreas was thankful he learnt about it along with his primary fighting style, because now he can see someone put it into action. Lelouch isn't too bad at it, but he still has his flaws.

After all, no-one can perfect a martial art in four years; especially one as complex as the one Lelouch now can use in fights.

Further down along the stream sat a man on a rock close to the water. His brown hair complimented his red eyes as they stared at the leader of the Great Wizard Generals. He was wearing a white blazer, with a dark blue long-sleeved undershirt. He was also wearing black suit pants, and brown shoes with thin laces of the same colour. The most distinct feature of the white blazer was there was a black band over his right arm, with a very familiar symbol in the middle of it; the very same symbol Lelouch has a necklace for: the fleur de lis (the very same symbol used in Lelouch's school in the past). It was green, symbolizing his rank in the Great Wizard Generals as the 3rd General.

He counted to himself. "…fifty-eight…fifty-nine… And that makes eighteen minutes. Wonder how much longer he'll stay asleep?"

"Come on, even you know the answer to that," said a voice from the tree behind Reiji Soyokaze. The figure came out from hiding, revealing his long scraggy blue hair, and a red tattoo over his right eye. He was wearing, ironically, the exact same clothing his Thought Projection, Siegrain, wore during his service in the (now gone) Magic Council. The only difference to his outfit was that he had the same black band Reiji had on his right arm. However, the fleur de lis was a different colour; it was dark blue, symbolizing his rank as Great Wizard General; second in command to Great Wizard Commander Lelouch Lamperouge (whose colour was white).

Great Wizard General Jellal Fernandes continued. "He's not even technically asleep. 1st General Rokubuki taught him this when he was physically strong enough."

"I know that," said Reiji, waving off the already-known fact. "But it looks like he's sleeping."

"You mean 'sleeping', like the time you tried to pull a prank on Ryuko when she was meditating by herself?" Jellal reminded his friend of the scary yet highly hilarious incident a couple of years ago.

"I had nightmares for weeks," Reiji replied deadpan, causing Jellal to chuckle.

Jellal got up close to Reiji and stood to the 3rd General's right side. "Do you know where 1st and 2nd Generals Rokubuki and Seishikina are?"

"I heard they went for a walk somewhere along the river. Probably thinking about how long we've been away from prison for."

"You can say that again."

Reiji ceased looking at the Great Wizard Commander under the waterfall and stood up. He prepared a gust of wind which surrounded his right arm, and took aim at his leader.

"What are you doing?" Jellal asked with interest.

"Showing you something I discovered not too long ago." He swung his right arm across his body, sending the wind slash directly towards Lelouch.

But before it reached him, the wind collided with Lelouch's Angel Shield (that appeared then disappeared in an instant). The wind slash has completely vanished.

Jellal whistled, clearly impressed. "I didn't know he could do that while meditating."

Reiji chuckled. "Yeah… The first time I tried it on him I nearly fell over backwards because of the force I used behind my attack."

"He really has gotten strong, hasn't he?"

"He's stronger than all of us. Individually, he could kick our arses in a few minutes. In a group? Meh. He could probably beat one or two of us before we overpower him."

"Still, to reach a level beyond our own while training for the same amount of time as us... He's really come around."

"Remember when he couldn't even run fifty metres without panting so much he almost fainted when he reached the one-hundred mark?"

The two Generals laughed.

After a moment of silence, Reiji said, "Hey, Jellal."

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever noticed that you and I sound exactly the same?"

"We do?" Jellal didn't notice until now; they really do sound the same.

Reiji nodded.

"Well… I guess we never really talked to each other by ourselves in the one place until now."

"Guess not." Reiji went back to looking at Lelouch. "I wonder if he noticed."

"Knowing him? Probably." Jellal did the same thing as Reiji and looked at Lelouch.

The Great Wizard Commander finished meditating. He slowly opened his lids; the mark of Geass clearly visible in his left eye as he looked at the stream of water in front of him. He 'stepped' out of the waterfall at a speed Jellal and Reiji could not follow. He emerged in front of his Generals, covering his left eye with his left hand.

"Good morning," Lelouch said casually.

"Morning," replied Jellal with a wave.

"Hey Chief," said Reiji.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes," Lelouch told his Generals. "I'm going to dry myself off."

"Got it," the two men said in unison.

Lelouch walked off as he said, "By the way: I knew about your voices when you tried to pull a prank on Ryuko, Reiji." He let his hand drop down to his side.

Jellal and Reiji kept still in silence.

Reiji broke it. "Dang… Who knew he could listen to us talking back there?"

"Don't ask me," Jellal responded.

* * *

To say the Isle of the Dragons has a volcano surrounded by hundreds of trees is one way to put it bluntly.

The island itself was gigantic; twice the size of its neighbouring isle (which spanned around three kilometres). Trees covered ninety percent of the ground, while the rest of it was overshadowed by the presence of the enormous volcano in the centre. It was active, but it hadn't erupted for about a century.

The fact of which made it perfect for the two men living on the island to survive on it.

They headed over to the island off the coast, the Isle of Sin; now the property of the Baram Alliance and its leader, Tsumibito. The man himself was at the top of the large castle on the island, clear of any trees for a two kilometre radius. The castle had twenty floors, each of them different in some way. All of them had members of the Baram Alliance guarding the floor they were assigned to.

Tsumibito sat in the throne room at the top, slouching with his head sitting on his left fist as he contemplated his next course of action with a smirk on his face. His attire had not changed for four years. He was still wearing a black suit of armour with spiked shoulders, and the chest plate pointed outwards in the centre. His boots and gauntlets were also pointed at the ends still. He wore a large black cape that was bound to the armour. His dragon head-shaped helmet was on the armrest of his black throne.

Tsumibito let his purple eyes (but were supposed to be red) scan the throne room out of boredom. His throne had strange markings all over; unrecognisable, as it was cloudy outside, making it hard to see what illustrations the throne beheld. The light peered through glass-stained windows that covered both sides of the walls of the room. From the throne down to the large cold doors, was a long, thin purple rug. The walls and the floors were made of stone, and were cold; due to the lack of any life apart from Tsumibito.

He was expecting two men to arrive at his door, where he would ask them a request to carry out for him. Since they were not part of the Baram Alliance, or any organisation for that matter, Tsumibito had to be cleverer with his words in order to gain their cooperation again. But that was a long while ago now, and Tsumibito had no interest in thinking about the past.

Sensing their presence behind the door, he called out with the cold and calculating voice he always used in front of official business, "You may enter."

The doors opened with ease as two new figures began their short walk to the other end of the room. Put simply, the two men were just about polar opposites in looks and behaviour.

To Tsumibito's right side of his vision walked a slightly tanned young man with blonde hair and decent black sunglasses, standing at five feet, ten inches. He wore a white singlet underneath a bright yellow jacket, with black jeans and black slip-on shoes. He was smiling like he just came home from a carnival.

The six foot-tall man walking to the left side of Tsumibito was wearing all black; shirt, leather jacket, baggy pants and sneakers. His stubble was also black, indicating what his natural hair colour was. But his actual hair was far from black. It was grey and reached down to his shoulder blades and covered the right side of his face, but there was something interesting about the hair: it was made entirely of smoke, and flowed like it wasn't even sitting on his head. He was also smoking a cigar, burnt a third of the way to the end.

It was simple to tell that he wasn't easily amused by many things, which was obvious by the way he held his grey eyes up to the man sitting like a lazy and arrogant king.

The two men stopped before the steps in front of the throne.

Tsumibito lifted his head slowly to meet the men's eyes. "It's good to see you again, Logan MacGyver," he said as he looked at the man with the cigar in his mouth. "And hello to you too, William Blackburn." He looked over to the man with the sunglasses. He began with small-talk. "I hope I didn't call you over at a bad time."

William was the first to answer. "Nah man, it's cool!" he said cheeringly. "We weren't doing much anyway."

Logan reminded William with a scruffy tone, "Have you forgotten about what we had planned to do in-"

"Anyway," William interrupted. "What do you want us to do, Tsumibito?" He grinned.

Tsumibito smiled a little. "I have a request for you two. Do it right, and it shouldn't be too difficult to pull off."

Logan didn't say anything, but felt quite annoyed having to listen to Tsumibito talk to them. He had his reasons.

"Great!" William nearly jumped with delight. "Something to do!"

Logan also wondered once in a while how he became friends with someone like William. And since William didn't ask the obvious question straight away, he figured he should ask it. "What do you want us to do?"

"I'm glad you asked." Tsumibito sat up straight in his throne. "Are you aware of the necessities for assassination?"

Logan didn't like where this was going. William was getting bubbly, but he himself had to admit that this wasn't exactly what he wanted to do. At least, not without a good reason.

Tsumibito continued. "There is someone who I would like you to kill when the opportunity arises. I have a feeling he'll arrive at my castle soon enough."

William raised an eyebrow. "Got a good reason why we have to kill him?"

"He is an evil that must be stopped. He'll get in the way of my plans to make Fiore a better place." Tsumibito was of course lying, but to his credit, very smoothly.

But Logan didn't buy it at all. His eyes narrowed as he scoffed. "Quit lying, or else I'll kill you instead."

Tsumibito looked at Logan curiously. _Ah, of course,_ he thought to himself. _I forgot Logan doesn't like it when someone lies. I remember the time Shokan and I had to talk truthfully to each other because Logan nearly attacked us._ "Scary," he said, smirking. "I'll keep that in mind the next time you and I are alone together."

Logan didn't respond as he took his cigar out of his mouth, tapped his finger on it, and blew out the smoke he held. He stuck it back in, relaxing a little.

Tsumibito looked at the both of them. "Alright then. I'll tell you the truth. I want this person dead because he's a thorn in my side, and I don't want to deal with him when I see him again. Is that truthful enough for you, MacGyver?"

Logan didn't respond.

William, feeling the air around them becoming bland, decided to change it. "So then…" He was about to talk further until his eyes behind his glasses looked down to the yellow jacket he was wearing. Without meaning to, he drifted off into fantasy land (which had a lot of yellow in it), smiling like he was having the best time of his life. He gave off a certain vibe that made everyone in the throne room think there was a sun behind his head like a religious figure.

It was a habit of his.

Logan noted this, and took the cigar out of his mouth again with his left hand, puffed, and stuck the burning side of the cigar underneath William's nose. When William smelt the smoke rising up to his nostrils, he snapped out of his fantasy land while yelping and pinched his nose.

Logan put his cigar back into his mouth after tapping it twice.

William rubbed his nose; upset of the fact his best friend did that to him. "Why did you do that?" he asked in a whiny tone.

"You have a habit of dozing off when you look at the colour yellow," Logan answered, seeming like he doesn't care in the slightest about his friend's complaining.

Tsumibito watched the whole exchange in silence. He felt like laughing, but that might've annoyed Logan. So he just continued to talk. "Your target will be…"

* * *

Walking by himself, Shokan eventually reached the shore of the Isle of Sin, looking out to the ocean as the clouds rolled in further. It probably was going to rain.

Shokan's silver haori blew from the force of the incoming sea-breeze. His arm healed nearly three whole years ago, so his arms were in the long and spacious sleeves. He put his hands into his pockets, deep in thought.

He was thinking about how close Tsumibito was to reaching his goal.

Fiore's official guilds were almost completely defeated. Most of them seem to have gone into hiding; not a single trace of them existing could be found, except for the guild buildings themselves. The Baram Alliance does not have very long until Fiore would become theirs. Very few stood in Tsumibito's way.

However, there were still a few guilds left who have been putting up resistance for all these years, popping up on the radar every now and then.

They were Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Fairy Tail.

_Fairy Tail…_ Shokan thought about the fight he had with them (although it probably couldn't be classified as a _fight_, per se, as they were easily defeated). He remembered quite clearly what he said to them. He wondered if they listened to what he said all those years ago. Is Zero still leading them? Shokan doubted it, because they weren't called the Black Knights anymore. But it wasn't impossible to still think the masked man was playing behind the scenes.

But Shokan had two questions on his mind: where did most of the guilds go to, and why did they leave? It was impossible for them to leave the country, because Tsumibito sent thousands of soldiers to guard the border almost as soon as the cease-fire ended. They couldn't stay out at sea either, because Tsumibito had teams of Water Magic users searching the parameters until they reached the isles. Getting past the isles was obviously impossible for them to do, because Tsumibito's main force stayed there. There were also the two men Tsumibito has acquainted himself with.

In other words, they wouldn't last very long against Tsumibito and his strongest allies; not to mention if Zeref entered the battlefield, they would all be killed in the blink of an eye.

A presence calmly approached Shokan at the shore.

_Speak of the devil,_ Shokan thought as he didn't move.

Zeref stood next to Shokan and watched the ocean, as another breeze blew through, filling the two men's noses with the scent of salty water. Zeref, since he's been under the influence of Geass, had been able to keep his magic power in check ever since Tsumibito asked him to. To do that, he needed to feel killing intent within himself. Thanks to the Geass command, he was feeling this way for almost four and a half years now.

Shokan broke the silence. "Why are you here, Zeref?"

Zeref responded, "I'm curious as to why you stroll down here by yourself without anyone accompanying you."

"What's wrong with that?" Shokan asked without a change in his stoic voice. "It isn't like I'll get attacked by anything. This island has been void of life forms for decades."

Zeref didn't say anything in response.

Shokan noted that this conversation wasn't going to get anywhere. Zeref had been following Tsumibito so strictly that he didn't bother talk much to anyone else. Shokan considered that Tsumibito's Geass must have affected Zeref's behaviour. But Shokan wouldn't know if Zeref's personality would change whether he was under the influence of Geass or not. Not that it mattered.

"Master Tsumibito ordered me to pass on a message to you," said Zeref.

This was unexpected for Shokan. But his face didn't change expressions. "What's the message?"

"The Water Magic users are returning to the Isle of Sin in twenty minutes. Master Tsumibito would like you to collect their reports and anything important to him personally."

"Understood," was all Shokan said before Zeref turned around and left.

* * *

Twenty minutes passed…

Shokan noticed four Water Magic users approaching the shore, not too far out. He waited until they finally approached the shore, but noted something was wrong. They didn't get out of the water; instead just floated.

Shokan stayed where he was, but called out, "Hey, what are you doing?"

They didn't respond.

_Are they dead? Or are they unconscious?_ Shokan pondered briefly, before noticing something around one of the unconscious wizards' bodies as it floated over near Shokan's feet. It looked like wire. _What the…?_

Just then, a cold, black metallic hand ripped out from the wizard's stomach, reached up to Shokan's face, and threw his head into the sand. Shokan didn't have time to register who attacked him, because the hand proceeded to knock Shokan out, preventing him from fighting back. The hand threw the body on its arm off and onto the shore, giving the recently deceased man no respect.

The black figure moved to Tsumibito's fortress, intending on carrying out what he arrived on the Isle of Sin to do.

* * *

Logan and William exited the throne room, thinking about the mission they were asked to carry out. Tsumibito didn't move from his seat, returning back to thinking about what he'll do as soon as Fiore falls under his control. It was clearly obvious that he was going to win this war; no-one seemed to be strong enough to keep the Baram Alliance away.

And that was what Tsumibito wanted; that, and something else.

_I wonder where Lelouch is right now,_ Tsumibito contemplated. He hasn't heard of any sightings of Lelouch for four years now. If he was dead, then Tsumibito could move onto his real goal sooner than expected.

It was then when a magic screen appeared in the centre of the room; a guard from the fortress on the other end was on the screen itself.

"What is it?" Tsumibito asked plainly, not really concerned about what the situation was.

The guard wasn't very calm, as he was looking behind his back frantically as he said, "_Sir, we have a serious problem!"_ He looked back again, and then at the screen. "_It's him! He's back!_"

That peaked Tsumibito's interest. He stood up for the first time in two hours. Thunder cracked as he picked up his helmet from his armrest and asked, "Who exactly?" He had two people in mind.

"_It's_-" The man on the screen was cut off, assumingly because the man in question took care of him.

Tsumibito didn't waste his time asking questions. He put on his helmet and called up a magic screen with a press of a concealed button on his throne. Eighteen small screens appeared in the centre of the room once again.

Certain individuals in all of the rooms looked at the screen.

Tsumibito declared his presence by saying, "Attention everyone: this is your leader, Tsumibito. I have a serious announcement to make that all of you must hear."

Several of the guards on the screens muttered to other members who moved over to the screens in their respective floors.

"We have an intruder in the fortress," Tsumibito told them. "He is very dangerous and must be handled with extreme caution. He has taken out the guards on the first floor already."

The screens erupted with slight panic and overall surprise.

"I instruct all of you to listen to my orders carefully. None of you must engage the intruder by yourselves. Stay in groups of three at minimum, and ten at maximum. If the intruder cannot be seen, then keep your guard up and stick in groups of two; watch each other's backs. When you spot him, alert the other guards in the area; do _not_ challenge him on your own. Gather into a group after spotting him, and discuss the possible places he could be hiding in. If he appears during that time, then kill him immediately."

All of the guards listened to every word Tsumibito said.

"Is that understood?"

"Yes!" the guards replied.

Tsumibito curled the fingers on his right hand and threw his arm over his left shoulder. "Well then…" He threw his arm outwards in front of him. "Go!"

All of the screens simultaneously shut off. Tsumibito walked down the three steps from his throne and walked to a glass-stained window to the left, closest to the throne. He looked through the window and confirmed to himself that will indeed rain. He didn't know when, but he didn't care.

Tsumibito, despite this recent occurrence, was smirking. He chuckled to himself a little. "It looks like things are about to get interesting."

He 'stepped' over to his throne and called up another screen, specifically to talk to his trump card.

Zeref looked at the screen. "Yes, Master Tsumibito?"

"Zeref," Tsumibito said. "There's an intruder in the fortress. I have two things I want you to do."

"Please tell me them, Master."

"Find Shokan and have him report to me immediately. And lastly, if you see the intruder, kill him on sight. But try to keep collateral damage at a minimum."

Zeref paused a little before answering, "At once, Master Tsumibito." The screen disappeared.

Tsumibito sat back down in his throne, crossed his legs, and rested his head on his right fist. "Let's see you get through my best forces, _intruder_."

* * *

The black figure moved up to the second floor with haste. He ran up the stairs, keeping close to the darkness, so as to make sure he blended with the shadows. He heard footsteps, and instantly reached down for his black utility belt that he designed himself. He pulled out a smoke bomb, and when the footsteps reached the stairs, he chucked it in front of the three men at the top, and it exploded on impact; making it hard for the three men to see as they tried to figure out what was happening. He rushed over to knock them all out swiftly.

He grabbed one of them, and threw him into the ground and punched his head, knocking him out. He got behind another one of them and threw the back of his hand into the side of his head. He fell to the ground. But the man clad in black advanced to the third man, threw him against the wall, and drove his elbow into his face, breaking his nose. He slumped onto his backside and slid down the stairs.

The smoke cleared, and the black figure noticed the second man was still moving. He walked up to him slowly, giving off a sense of power and intimidation. The man on the ground looked up and flinched as his reflection looked back at him. He was staring into a black void in the centre of the man's mask as it approached him slowly and pulled him up by the shirt to his feet.

"Y-You're…!" the goon stuttered.

A cold, chilling, metallic voice responded with, "You seem to know who I am." He let his left hand stay on the shirt as he pulled back his right arm, transformed it into the arm of a mechanical giant he once piloted, and charged magic into the blaster attached to his wrist.

The helpless man was scared beyond belief. A magic blast as point-blank range was considered very deadly.

"Since you seem to know a few things…" the metallic voice continued. "…then maybe you would know where I can find the one who's in charge in this castle."

"No…! N-No!" The man struggled as the mask's stare pierced down to the core of his being. "Please! Don't kill me!"

"_Where is Tsumibito?_" the mask asked sternly and callously.

"The twentieth floor! The top of the castle!" The man was about to wet himself.

The black-armoured man dropped the goon on his backside.

The man tried to scurry away. "You…! YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

"There is no monster…" The masked man aimed his right hand at the goon's head. "…_only Zero._" And that was then Zero fired his magic and killed the man on the floor, leaving a bloody mess in his wake.

Staring at the corpse apathetically for a moment, Zero advanced through the castle, hiding from the patrols.

* * *

A screen appeared in front of Tsumibito ten minutes later. He lifted his head to address the random goon on the other side of the screen. "What is it?"

"Sir, the entire second and third floor is wiped out! We went to check up on everyone on the floor since they weren't responding, but when we got there they were either dead or knocked out!"

Tsumibito scowled. "Have you spotted the intruder?"

"No sir."

_Time for a change of plans_, Tsumibito commented silently. "Have everyone in odd-numbered floors all regroup on even-numbered floors. If you can escape from the floor you regrouped in when the intruder attacks, then get to the next ambush point to draw him out."

"Yes sir!" The screen vanished.

Tsumibito began thinking to himself. _If this intruder is acting alone, then it might be… No, he wouldn't. He has allies at his disposal. Going alone would be suicide; especially since he wouldn't have gotten stronger than he has all those years ago. That is, if the intruder is who I think it is._

He opened a screen to talk to his trump card. "Zeref."

"Yes, Master?"

"How's Shokan?"

"I found him unconscious on the beach with four dead sea patrol guards floating along the shore."

_I see, so that's how he got here._ "Make your way to the nineteenth floor as fast as you can. But do it as subtly as possible."

"I understand, Master." Communication was once again cut.

Unbeknownst to Tsumibito, three figures arrived on the Isle of the Dragons without anyone noticing. One of them disappeared in the blink of an eye and made its way to the castle. The other two figures moved over to the Isle of Sin as quickly as they could manage.

* * *

Zero reached the sixth floor, the ballroom, and noticed the fifty-five goons standing around the balcony, the ground floor, and blocking the spiralling staircase on the other side of the large dance floor (which would lead to the seventh floor). He wasn't noticed just yet, so he looked up, noted the gargoyle, and jumped up onto it silently. He observed his surroundings to make the best course of action.

The room itself was quite well-lit and very spacious; despite there being over fifty other people in it. The chandeliers made up for the lack of windows, and there were eleven groups of five people in small circles, waiting for Zero to show up.

And Zero had the feeling Tsumibito was now watching the sixth floor from the top, and he was right. The screen appeared in the air so everyone could see Tsumibito talk to them.

_Tsumibito… So you are here._ If Zero had a face, he would be smirking; proud of himself that he found what he was looking for.

Tsumibito spoke, "Hello everyone." He now had the attention of everyone in the room. "Don't take what I'm about to say to heart, but you're all going to be my guinea pigs."

The goons became slightly outraged. Some of them accused Tsumibito of being a cold-hearted bastard (among themselves, of course).

Tsumibito continued as if nothing changed. "Try to understand that this is the only way I can identify the intruder, as well as to see what he's capable of. If you die, I promise I will have everyone work to avenge your deaths." He seemingly looked directly at Zero. He smirked. "So try to have fun. Oh, and by the way, he's on top of the gargoyle above the exit to the fifth floor on the balcony." He cut the screen short.

_Bastard,_ Zero thought as he jumped into the group in the centre of the ballroom, unfortunately standing on top of one of the men's head and bringing him to the ground.

Zero's outfit has changed over the years. While he still used magic to make the black suit of armour on his body, his cape was no longer a dark blue with gold trimming, but black with gold trimming. His helmet was also black instead of dark blue. The rest of the mask remained the same as it did four years ago.

The other four men in the group jumped back in fright, like a cat when someone would sneak up on it and scare it. Zero pulled out a device from his utility belt and pressed the button.

A large surge of electricity reached the four corners of the room, affecting everyone in it; including Zero. When a few goons tried to use their magic, they noticed that nothing happened. They then realised that Zero just disabled everyone's magic in the entire room, rendering projectiles useless.

The goons on the balcony jumped down, landing as safely as possible. Five of them hilariously broke their legs when they hit the ground (it was a six-metre drop), but the rest could still walk. If they couldn't attack from a distance, then they would have to use their fists.

"GET 'EM BOYS!" yelled one of them, and three men charged at Zero.

Bringing his foot down hard on the skull of the man he stood on, killing him, he leapt into the air and did a split kick into two of the men, and threw the third one to the ground and broke his arm over Zero's leg. Finished with them, he jumped over to the closest goon and elbowed him in the gut, blowing him back into six other guys. Zero continued over to the group and took out another device. He sprayed the gel on one of the goons, jumped over one of them standing up, and detonated the explosive, hitting the whole group of six men and killing the one who got sprayed on.

There were now forty-seven men who could still fight back.

One of the goons remarked how he was going to kill Zero before the man himself ran up to him and broke his jaw with a flying fist. Zero spun sideways to the right and punched another goon in the head, and then ducked down and swept said goon by the feet. Another goon tried to sucker-punch Zero, but was met with a hard elbow to his solar plexus, causing him to cough up blood. Zero threw the back of his fist into that goon's face, knocking him down to the ground.

Forty-five left.

Another one ran up to Zero and tried to kick him in the stomach, but Zero got his left arm underneath the knee joint, turned around and swept his right leg up. The man flew in the air momentarily before landing on his neck, knocking him out cold. Zero rolled back and kicked his legs into a goon behind him, pushing him into three more men. The masked man pulled out a grappling claw from his utility belt and pulled a goon over to him. When he was close enough, Zero grabbed him by the throat, stood past his centre of balance, and with his right leg swept the goon into the air and down to the ground. While putting away the claw, he stomped on the goon's throat, sticking the two sides of the goon's trachea together and causing him to gag for air.

Forty-three left to go.

Four men ran up to Zero to try and hold him down, but he kicked one in the gut, socked another one with a right hook, broke the third one's foot and head-butted him, and used a combination of elbows and fists on the last one; breaking a few bones in the process. He did a back-flip and stomped the first goon's head into the floor even further. He took note of ten men running out of the room and to the next floor.

That meant twenty-nine left to deal with.

It was easy to tell that the morale of the men in the room has decreased quite a bit. But regardless, they were ordered to deal with the intruder, and that's what they (well, most of them right now) were going to do. Four men ran up and circled around Zero as the rest of them looked for an opportunity to attack.

Zero stood still and kept his guard up with the two men behind him. The man to his left went for a right swing, but Zero caught his wrist and threw him over his shoulder and to the ground. The one who was to his right tried to bear-hug him from behind. Zero countered by raising his arms, striking the man's solar plexus with a hard elbow, grabbing his right arm and snapping it from the elbow joint over his shoulder, and then ducked under the arm and flipping the man onto his back and on top of the first man. The two men now in front of him were met with Zero's open palms pushing them into the ground head-first.

Counting the two men now knocked out; there remained twenty-six goons.

Six men decided to rush the masked man. Before dealing with them, Zero placed explosive gel on the man atop the one with a broken arm and waited for the group of six to reach him. When they got close, Zero leapt over the one in front of him, snapped his neck in mid-air, and then detonated the gel with the same device from earlier as he hit the ground. The other five got a little _too_ close to the gel, and ended up having their legs blown off, while the man with the gel on him got a brand new hole through his chest.

Nineteen goons stood in awe for a mere moment, doubting they would be able to take on this crazy-strong masked man without some sort of weapon. Two more nodded to each other as they ran up to Zero and tried to keep him distracted long enough to let the other seventeen think of something to do. One of them got in front and tried to punch Zero in the back of the head.

Zero caught the goon's hand and stepped past him, turning him around into the other goon. Zero leapt up and drop-kicked the two of them, landing back on his feet without any difficulty. The two men, on the other hand, sprawled all over the place because of all of the bodies on the ground. Zero took advantage of this by jumping into the air and landing on top of one of them. With his mask meeting the frightened goon, Zero knocked him out with a swift right hook.

Another goon from the (now) sixteen people still dumbfounded ran up behind Zero to choke him out. With arms now around his neck, Zero got his hands through the gap between the elbow joint and his neck and used his leg power to get up and throw the goon over his head and down to the ground on top of the unconscious goon. He stomped on his face, breaking his nose.

Finally having enough of being scared, all fifteen remaining men charged at Zero and went all-out. Zero countered a few punches and kicks before going on the offensive himself. He grabbed one of their fists and crushed it with pure force, and did a high kick to the head. He moved his head to the left and grabbed an arm with both of his hands, came underneath it and flipped the goon onto his back. Still holding the arm, he placed it over his thigh after getting down to one knee, and bent the arm downwards, breaking it.

Thirteen left until Zero could advance.

They all attacked simultaneously; throwing any punch they could at Zero, hoping one would connect and knock him off-guard. But Zero was just blocking casually as if he wasn't facing a real challenge (he considered at least twenty at the same time a challenge). Some of the goons tried kicking at his legs, but again, he was just kicking them back normally.

_I've wasted enough time here,_ thought Zero. _It's time I finish this now._

And that was what he started to do. He went back to the offensive and started throwing hard punches himself. He collided with one fist and broke it; he grabbed a forearm and snapped it like a twig; he punched someone in the head so hard that they spun four times before they fell to the ground; he elbowed a goon behind him and ruptured his internal organs before driving another elbow into the back of his neck; he grabbed one of them by the shirt and threw him over his head onto the ground head-first; he snapped another one's neck with his hands by rotating the head too fast; he kicked a goon in the nuts so hard he coughed up blood; he drove a flying knee into another goon's temple, knocking him down as well; he rolled forward over his shoulder and got up to another goon, grabbed his leg, rolled again until the goon's stomach was touching the ground, and then snapped his foot; getting up, he drove his fingers into another goon's eyes; pulling them out, he leapt into the air and did an axe-kick on top of another man's head; coming down, he jumped forward again, this time spinning in mid-air until his foot connected with a goon's head, twisting it around and snapping his neck.

The last man just stood there, already defeated. He didn't try to stop Zero now. He was going to die anyway, so what was the use?

But when Zero looked at the man, he didn't attack him. Instead, he only told him with his metallic voice, "_I think you should get out of here while you still have allies left to defend you_."

The last goon nodded slowly, so scared he couldn't display the proper emotion, and ran to the stairs that would lead to the next floor.

Zero noted to himself only one thing: all of that training for four years was definitely worth it.

End of Chapter 20

**(A/N: E.E.: **_**Shit!**_** Zero is **_**terrifying**_**. I'm serious; I was shaking when I was writing his dialogue. He sent shivers down my spine. Not to mention he's similar to a Type-V Anti-Hero version of Batman. Thank you, **_**Arkham City**_**, for the overall feel Zero gave off.**

**Natsu: *petrified***

**E.E.: I think I've been mentally scaring Natsu for a while now. Maybe I should ask him to retire his position…**

**Natsu: *falls over backwards***

**E.E.: Or maybe I won't.**

**I have a poll for you to vote in as you read this. Go to my bio page to find out what it's about. And don't forget to leave a review if you have anything to say about this. Again, I'm all ears… Or eyes. Whatever.**

**Look forward to the next chapter after another hiatus. Bye guys.)**


	21. A Hero's Return

Chapter 21: A Hero's Return

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: Hey Ebi.**

**E.E.: Yes?**

**Natsu: I want to do the notes this time.**

**E.E.: Oh? Are you tired of playing comic-relief?**

**Natsu: *stares at me for a while* Just let me do it.**

**E.E.: By all means.**

**Natsu: *cheerful again* Hey guys! How's it going? Man, I can't believe how strong Zero got in four years. *In denial that Zero's a monster* How about the rest of you? Anyway, this chapter is going to need a bit of music to go with a certain scene. Try Two Steps From Hell's "A Hero's Return", and **_**maybe**_** a bit of the **_**Batman: Arkham City**_** soundtrack. If you've read the bio page down at the bottom, you'll spoil it for yourself as to why you should play the first song, so don't read it!**

**Unless, of course, you already did…**

**But who cares! Let's get started!)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass**_**, **_**Fairy Tail**_**, or any of the original design for the expies. I will release a chapter every Thursday starting from now until I say there's another hiatus. Don't worry; that won't happen for a while.**

* * *

Tsumibito was laughing.

Even though he just saw fifty of his men get beaten to a bloody pulp by a one-man army of a wizard, he was laughing. His intruder (who he now confirmed is Zero) didn't even _use_ magic against these men. He purposefully disabled his own magic and theirs, but still came out on top.

And he didn't get hit _once_.

Tsumibito ceased his laughing, finally calming down. But he was still smiling. "So then, Zero… After four years of hiding from the world, you came out of your rabbit hole." He laughed again.

After he stopped, he continued to talk to himself. "I must say, I'm glad you're this strong…" He got up from his throne and headed for the door. "…because maybe you will prove a challenge for-"

Suddenly, the large doors shattered into microscopic pieces; stopping Tsumibito in his tracks as he looked at what happened. His face was full of surprise, but he hid it as quickly as he could manage.

_What was that?_ Tsumibito wondered.

Standing where the door used to be was a mysterious figure. It was wearing a black buttoned t-shirt with a hood attached to the collar (which at this point was concealing the face). It wore baggy grey pants and black joggers. The figure's wrists were covered up by two black bands.

The figure's hands were in its pockets. Its face was not visible, as the hood covered the top half of its head completely. All that could be seen (apart from the small display of the chest, which was because of the opened button) was the bottom half of the face. And it had no visible emotion.

Tsumibito was curious. He couldn't recognise who this figure was, and he wasn't sure if this person had magic or not. If it did, then it was hiding its power very well. He decided the person was also an intruder, and figured he might as well kill it.

He said to the person on the other side of the room, "I don't know who you are, but you appear to be in my way. I'm afraid since you came here uninvited, I will have to kill you myself." He charged a white 'knife' in his left hand and leapt at blinding speed towards the person-

Who raised its right hand and caught Tsumibito's wrist with almost no effort.

"!" Tsumibito was in shock as he hung in the air. _What the-?_

The wind Tsumibito generated with his speed caught up with him. The wind was so strong that it blew the figure's hood back. His raven black hair momentarily flowed with the wind and settled down just as quickly, and he didn't bother look up to see Tsumibito's face. He was wearing an eye-patch over his left eye, to conceal the mark of the curse on his very being from the rest of the world.

"!" Tsumibito's mouth gaped open as his eyes dilated. "You…!"

"It's been a while…" Great Wizard Commander Lelouch Lamperouge looked up to his counterpart with the calmest yet most confident look on his face. "…Tsumibito." Charging a 'sphere' for a split second, he fired a large black beam of his magic that tore through the ceiling; leaving a giant hole in it. Tsumibito was completely engulfed by the attack as Lelouch stood there without moving a muscle.

When he finished his attack, Lelouch looked out in front of him, as he quickly figured out he wasn't holding a wrist anymore. But he knew where Tsumibito was. He was looking in his general direction.

Tsumibito was hunched over; a complete wreck. Forty percent of his armour was obliterated from his left arm to his other arm and down to his belly button. His cape was literally reduced to nothing. His helmet was also non-existent. He was breathing heavily due to the speed he had to generate to get out of the blast radius. He was bleeding from the forehead and multiple scratches on his skin. Strangely, he does not have any scars from his past fights. Lelouch couldn't do that.

As the Wizard Commander, Lelouch had his white fleur de lis on the back of his shirt. Underneath the shirt was his gold necklace he got from Kishi. It was a recurring theme for him, and he didn't really care to think why.

Tsumibito was shaking at the knees. "H-How… How are you…so strong…?"

Lelouch put his hands back in his pockets and answered calmly, "It's quite simple, really. I went into hiding and trained."

That made Tsumibito angry. "You're lying…! There's no way you could get this strong in four years!"

"Why?" Lelouch asked.

Tsumibito flinched.

Lelouch started to walk very slowly, his footsteps echoing in the room. "There is one more thing I did over the years apart from training."

"And what's that?"

"I hid most of Fiore's guilds away."

"!" Tsumibito's back straightened up. "So it was _you_!"

"Not only that, but I travelled all over the continent and gained the support of every single government that I could find. With my leadership, they allowed me to give out orders to their country's army and to form the Earth Land Alliance."

Tsumibito fell to his knees; unable to take the news and stay standing at the same time. "So then…"

"That's right. As we speak, half of my Generals are leading all of those armies into Fiore, along with all of the magic guilds that I requested to hide from your patrols. In short, my manpower is nearly ten times larger than yours. I also have Generals Jellal and Andreas on this island right now to finish off your remaining forces."

Tsumibito couldn't express the right emotion on his face that would encapsulate all of the emotion he was feeling inside of him. Anger, horror, even envy… He simply could not register onto his face the realisation that his hard work will be for naught in one day. Lelouch stopped in front of Tsumibito and said one simple word to him.

"Checkmate."

Tsumibito registered the word as anger swelled up inside of him. "No… Not like this… _It can't end like this…_" He got up slowly as if he was drunk, his head hung low. His fists shook with anger as he growled his next words. "_I. Won't. LET IT!_" He looked up with the most rage-filled eyes Lelouch has ever seen. It was obvious Tsumibito snapped and was about to attack.

So as to not let Tsumibito smash the entire castle into pieces, Lelouch quickly gathered enough magic in his body and said softly, "Secret Black Angel Art: Limbo." Suddenly releasing his magic outwards, the entire room was engulfed in pure darkness. Tsumibito couldn't see anything else except for the black world Lelouch created (who couldn't be seen anywhere).

Scowling, Tsumibito frantically looked around for Lelouch. "_Where are you?!_"

"_**Behind you,**_" said an echoing voice.

Tsumibito turned around and paused. What he was looking at was not Lelouch, but a beast; a gryphon. Its red eyes pierced the darkness as Lelouch's voice spoke again from the winged creature. "_**Let's play a little game, Tsumibito.**_"

Tsumibito's eyes narrowed. "And what is the point of playing a game?"

"_**It will determine whether you get out of this world, or if you will die in it,**_" the gryphon answered.

Tsumibito didn't really have a choice in the matter. If he wanted to kill Lelouch, then he would need to get out of this world. He yielded. "What are the rules?" he said bitterly.

"_**If you can strike my beast in a vital spot, then the world will collapse and you will be free. However, if you take too long to hit it, then it will devour you, and you will fall with the Baram Alliance by the end of the day.**_"

"How much time do I have before that happens?"

"_**Thirty minutes,**_" was the last thing Lelouch said before the gryphon charged at Tsumibito.

* * *

Jellal and Andreas arrived at the entrance to Tsumibito's fortress.

Andreas was wearing a white hakama with ornate red markings with gold trimmings. He wore a sleeveless white gi with black linings, and a black band on his right arm with a red fleur de lis; meaning he was the 1st General, which was underneath Great Wizard General Jellal. Both men looked at the door.

It was a large steel door that stretched about ten metres in height, and six metres in width. The walls were made of stone. It was a two minute walk from the beach where the Generals were right now.

Andreas looked at Jellal and said, "So Lelouch wants us to take down everyone inside."

Jellal answered, "It shouldn't be too hard. Not unless we run into Shokan or Zeref."

"About that…" Andreas muttered. "How are we going to deal with him?"

"Lelouch said he would've taken care of Zeref before he went to Tsumibito."

The two Generals both tried searching for Zeref's presence. But strangely, it wasn't anywhere to be found. It was clear to Jellal and Andreas what actually happened at this point.

* * *

_Earlier…_

_Zeref was now waiting at the place Tsumibito ordered him to stay in. He didn't know who the intruder was, but he didn't really care. He was looking out the window in the room, waiting for the intruder to arrive as the clouds came closer and closer to the Isle of Sin. No-one else was in the room except for him._

_Or at least, until someone's hand reached around and took the contact lenses out of his eyes faster than Zeref could react._

_The presence 'stepped' back twenty metres as Zeref turned around and was about to prepare an attack. But Lelouch took off his eye-patch and said as he activated his Geass, "_Never follow Tsumibito's orders again!"

_Zeref was too late. He couldn't cover his eyes quick enough to not be affected by Lelouch's Geass. It reworked Zeref's brain almost back to how it was before he met Tsumibito._

_After the command had worked, Zeref put his arm down and looked at Lelouch in confusion. "Where…am I?" His memories of the past four years were a little vague, but that would be temporary._

"_Not where you should be," Lelouch answered as he put his eye-patch back on and let the contact lenses hit the floor. "You need to get out of here. I assume you were leaving Heaven Wolf Island before Acnologia attacked."_

_Zeref looked at Lelouch blankly for a second, before he realised he was right. He bowed his head to Lelouch. "I'm grateful to you. Thank you for helping me." He didn't bother question how Lelouch knew everything he just said. His magic started to lose a little control as he started to feel compassionate._

_Lelouch put his hood back on and went to the staircase. "Go…" he whispered._

_And that was when Zeref began to leave. He walked down the stairs to the previous floor. His days of working under Tsumibito were over._

* * *

Jellal and Andreas sensed another presence as it came up behind them. They turned around and saw Shokan holding his neck and standing there. They put their guard up quickly.

Shokan looked at the both of them and said, "So it seems you all came out of hiding."

The Generals didn't say anything.

Shokan continued. "My guess is that Zeref had Geass used on him to leave the island, and that Lelouch is fighting Tsumibito as we speak."

"So, you know about Geass too?" Jellal asked. He and the other Generals were told by Lelouch about it when he couldn't turn it off at will. None of them minded Lelouch having Geass (especially Jellal, since he was under its influence first, and it helped him regain his memories), as long as Lelouch didn't try using it on them without consent.

Shokan cracked his neck on both sides before saying, "Well then… I guess I might as well join the battle as well. Tsumibito wouldn't be very happy if I just stood here talking." He looked at Jellal. "I have a bone to pick with you. Since you were the one who dealt the final blow to me four years ago, I want to fight you alone."

Andreas dropped his guard slowly and said to Jellal, "How about it? I can probably deal with the guys inside by myself."

Jellal agreed. Andreas wasn't as strong as he was, but he was pretty close. "Alright…" He stood up straight and said to Shokan, "Let's take this somewhere else on the island."

"Agreed." He and Jellal dashed to the other end of the island.

Andreas stood alone as he turned back around to the door. He kicked it open with ease, nearly breaking the doors by the hinges. He smiled a little. "Try not to get yourself killed, Jellal. Rumour has it you're waiting for a girl to come back." He dashed inside as he chuckled a little to himself. Lelouch was pretty funny when he was tricked into drinking alcohol.

Jellal and Shokan arrived on the shore on the other end of the Isle of Sin as soon as the clouds rolled over completely in the sky. They stared at each other for a moment in silence before Shokan spoke.

"You seem to have gotten stronger. Perhaps this will be interesting."

"Don't get too full of yourself." Jellal's body began to glow the same colour as his Heavenly Body Magic. "If I were you, I'd recommend going full-power immediately."

"And why's tha-?"

Shokan's face was grabbed by Jellal and was dragged into the sand. Jellal spun around in a full circle and threw Shokan into the air and fired several spear-like beams of his magic from his position. "That's why," he said plainly as the attack hit its mark.

When the explosion settled, Shokan elevated back down to the ground and made a huge shockwave under his feet. His eyes were now red instead of blue, signifying that he was going to fight at one-hundred percent. He took off his haori and let it float away in the air. "You're going to pay for that."

Jellal chuckled as he took a left-lead stance. "Bring it then." He charged through the air, and the battle began.

* * *

Zero was getting a little sick and tired of what he was doing.

He was on the twelfth floor right now, after dealing with at least a hundred or so guards in this large fortress. It was becoming more and more difficult to not use his magic. But regardless, he swore that he would use it as little as possible so he had enough power to kill Tsumibito. After all, why else would he have created a device that nullifies magic?

Of course, that didn't mean it was going to be easy without it.

After killing the last man in the room, he said to himself, "This is ridiculous. Tsumibito was wasting his time with these men. He should've checked whether or not any of them could actually fight without using magic." He walked off, expecting more men to wait for him on the fourteenth floor.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Fiore…

Reiji was floating above Magnolia with his hands in his pockets. He watched the streets as everyone from Fairy Tail and a lot of other people from different armies absolutely smashed the Baram Alliance. He knew Ryuko was in Oshibana at the moment, so he was alone right now. While it was good to know that the Earth Land Alliance was going to win, it was a little boring waiting it out.

Reiji dodged one of the projectiles that went too high into the air. "Man, I wish I could talk to someone. This is _way_ too boring." Sadly, he won't get his wish for a while.

* * *

Ryuko, on the other hand, was having the time of her life over at Oshibana (her crazy side, anyway).

She was on top of the train station with her guard-less black katana in her left hand as she looked down with a wicked smile on her face.

Her clothing was very old-fashioned. She wore a red hakama with white toe-socks and straw sandals, and a white gi with a black armband that had a yellow fleur de lis that signified her rank as 2nd General. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail, but she kept the fringe on her forehead.

She withdrew her sword when she realised the Baram Alliance was defeated where she was. All of the other battalions in the country were led by the other countries' best commanders, which made it easier for the Earth Land Alliance to crush the wavering remnants of the Baram Alliance.

She made her way down to the ground through the station and planned on catching a train to Magnolia.

* * *

Tsumibito was livid, to put bluntly.

Because he wasn't thinking clearly, he was getting annihilated by Lelouch's gryphon. His armour was only covering the bottom half of his body. He had three deep gashes in his back and one on his chest. He was losing blood fairly quickly, and the regeneration process was incredibly slow. And that just added to his frustration.

Then again, he was only getting so mad because Lelouch's gryphon was _ungodly_ annoying to him.

He missed the beast again as he tried to stab it through the neck. Turning around, he dodged a slash from the gryphon's claw and fired a 'sphere' at it. But that missed as well, and the beast disappeared back into the darkness.

"_Damn it__!_" Tsumibito threw a small fit as he stopped and breathed heavily.

"_**You have fifteen minutes left,**_" said Lelouch.

Tsumibito growled, realising his predicament. But instead of randomly throwing his magic around, he stood still and began to think clearly. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly, calming himself. He focused on trying to find the slightest sound. When that didn't work, he focused instead for any sign of magic moving around.

The beast charged in front of Tsumibito, who dodged underneath and went for the heart. But the gryphon 'stepped' away and got behind Tsumibito. He raised his 'shield', charged a 'sphere' in his right hand, and fired it right into the gryphon's face. It reeled back as Tsumibito took a 'knife' and slashed its throat.

The darkness ceased, and Tsumibito turned his head around and saw Lelouch clapping his hands.

"Impressive," Lelouch remarked. "At the rate you were going, you may have been killed a lot earlier than I expected."

Tsumibito just stared at his Earth Land counterpart as he stopped clapping.

"Not interested in talking anymore?" Lelouch asked. He then took a left-lead stance and raised his arms. His right arm was held higher than his left, and was pulled back so the hand was close to his face. He kept his left arm down in front of him. His palms were open and his fingers were relaxed. "Alright then; I still have eighty-five percent of magic left if you want to fight this way."

Tsumibito turned his whole body towards Lelouch. _Eighty-five percent? He can't be serious. I only have less than fifty percent left._ "Who said I was done talking?"

Lelouch responded, "Then talk away."

Tsumibito scowled. "What else have you done before you got to me?"

"Why don't you sense around and figure it out?"

Tsumibito did, and then realised what was wrong. "You _bastard_… Where is Zeref?"

"At the moment? Certainly not here if that's what you were wondering."

Tsumibito was a little worried about the possibility that Zeref could now be working with Lelouch. He wouldn't stand a chance if that was the case. _But wait… If he did order Zeref to follow him, then he would've made Zeref kill me already. I guess I'm lucky in that regard._

Lelouch said, "Try not to demolish the place. I got these clothes just a little while ago."

Tsumibito was reminded of C.C. because of the similar manner Lelouch was talking in. He couldn't help but smirk as he threw his hands to his right side close together, and then drew them apart, simultaneously summoning a cylindrical burst of white wind. He clapped his hands together before saying, "Where did you learn how to talk like that?"

Lelouch smiled and replied, "You have your former double-crosser Reiji to thank for the lessons."

"Remind me to give him a trophy for managing to teach _you_ of all people how to talk like an arse."

"Noted." Lelouch sprinted towards Tsumibito, who chucked the Arch-Demon Hurricane at him. Lelouch dodged to the right as the hurricane tore through to the outside of the building and used the exact same move Tsumibito used (but with a small gesture of his right hand instead of the big one Tsumibito used); the Arch-Angel Hurricane, and it was black.

The hurricane was smaller than Tsumibito's but it was fast enough to make Tsumibito dodge to the left and meet Lelouch's line of sight. Lelouch went for a straight left-handed punch to Tsumibito's head as the hurricane hit the wall. Tsumibito blocked the strike, and charged a 'sphere' in his free hand and fired.

But Lelouch 'stepped' behind Tsumibito, grabbed his chin with his right hand, and twisted him around and to the ground. Tsumibito stopped himself from hitting the floor with his face by holding his hands out, and rolled forward. Getting up, he went for a roundhouse kick to Lelouch's head, who ducked down and tried to sweep Tsumibito's other leg.

Tsumibito summoned his white wings and jumped into the air, dodging the leg sweep. He 'stepped' with two charged 'knives'; performing White Judgement. Lelouch saw this and blocked frantically but precisely; too fast for the naked eye to see. When Tsumibito reappeared behind Lelouch, nothing happened. He now realised that Lelouch just blocked every single invisible slash he threw at him.

Lelouch stood back up straight and turned around to face Tsumibito, whose back was still toward him. "What do you think? Not a bad trick, is it? I just had to use my Angel Step and keep myself in the one spot." By this, he meant Angel Step made his movements fast enough to block Tsumibito's attacks.

Tsumibito scowled as he turned around and met Lelouch's gaze. "That move should be impossible to block. There is no way you blocked every single strike I carried out."

"But I did, and I can do it again if I need to." He closed his right eye for a second, and opened it saying, "Shall we get serious? Or are we going to fool around a bit more?" He got back into his fighting stance. He would have to thank Andreas later for this.

"Don't underestimate me!" Tsumibito 'stepped' behind Lelouch with two charged 'spheres' in his hands and fired them. But he only hit the ground, as Lelouch appeared above him with a hand ready to do a karate chop. He came down with a 'knife' and chopped downwards as he landed on the ground.

Tsumibito _barely_ dodged as Lelouch's attack made a large vertical beam that smashed the wall on the other end of the room with his hand. It was a new trick Andreas taught him during training, and Lelouch decided to call it 'Arch-Angel Claw'. Tsumibito was where the door was as a drizzle of rain slowly fell through the hole in the ceiling Lelouch made earlier.

Lelouch pounced at Tsumibito with a kick Tsumibito remembered all too well. Memories of Suzaku flashed in his head as Lelouch followed the exact same movement his old friend did. Tsumibito tried blocking, but was pushed by the kick's force so hard that he flew all the way to the left and crashed through the glass-stained window.

Lelouch landed softly on his feet. He chuckled to himself. "He can't be serious, can he? If my magic and his are similar, then shouldn't he be able to use the Secret Arts like I can?"

Seeing as how he said this intentionally to tempt fate, Lelouch got what he wanted. Tsumibito smashed through to the top floor from the roof, which created another hole in the ceiling. The dust settled as Lelouch looked at the centre of the room, and what stood in the centre of all the debris.

Tsumibito's armour looked like it vanished completely. Instead, his entire body, even his head, was encased in a white skin (save for his purple eyes). There was a black line going down from the top of the head to his belly button (or where it was assumed to be). He had no mouth and his nostrils were closed up. His purple eyes stood out the most of Tsumibito.

Lelouch was impressed, at the very least. Tsumibito's Secret Art felt powerful, and he seemed to have gotten faster. But one question was stuck in front of his mind.

Would it be enough to take on Lelouch?

Lelouch smiled as he walked back in line with the centre of the room, and readied his stance once again when he reached it. There was no need for words. But feeling pretty confident with himself, he made a small gesture with his left hand that said: c_ome and get me._

Tsumibito obliged as he used one hand to summon his Arch-Demon Hurricane, and chucked it at Lelouch with triple the speed. Lelouch 'stepped' to the right, and threw a few 'spheres' ahead of him as he dashed. Tsumibito took the projectiles without moving. Lelouch got up to him and tried to do a flying elbow, but Tsumibito emerged from the dust, simultaneously regenerating the blast wounds on his chest, and grabbed Lelouch's forearm.

Lelouch smirked as he flipped backward and kicked Tsumibito in the chin, causing him to let go as Lelouch landed on his feet. Thinking to himself, _So that's why you have no scars,_ he 'stepped' behind Tsumibito and struck his elbow into the white-clad man's back, sending him flying forward for a split second before gaining air control. Tsumibito decided to attack again, charging not two 'spheres' from his hands, but _ten_ from his fingers. He turned back around to face Lelouch as he held his fingers out in front of him.

Lelouch looked surprised. This was news to him. Even he didn't know how to do that. Regardless, he dashed forward for another spin-kick. Tsumibito fired all ten beams at once, and Lelouch barely dodged them by 'stepping' higher into the air. He charged a 'knife' in his hand and performed the Arch-Angel Claw again. As it headed for Tsumibito, he waved his right hand in front of the Claw, sending that attack too far to the left as it flew outside. Lelouch landed back down on the ground.

Tsumibito walked slowly as he said with his now double-toned voice, "Are _you_ done playing around? I'm getting quite bored of you testing out my Vanguard form." 'Vanguard' was the name of Tsumibito's Secret White Demon Art and was also the reason he could regenerate in the first place.

Lelouch admitted Tsumibito got him there. He was trying to test out Tsumibito's new form to see what it was capable of. But seeing that Tsumibito could deflect many of his basic attacks and regenerate the ones that hit him, he decided to go for some more drastic measures.

He prepared to propel himself as he charged two 'knives' with his hands, and when Tsumibito got close enough (because of walking), he performed Black Judgement. But the difference is when Lelouch went through Tsumibito, he reappeared with his hands in his pockets. He turned around and smiled.

Tsumibito should've blocked the attack, because about six slashes appeared on his chest. Slowly, they began to regenerate. He looked down and muttered, "Oh? Perhaps I've misjudged you." He turned his head to face Lelouch, who was back at the door. "I guess it's my turn now."

He 'stepped' high into the air, and Lelouch followed with his own 'step'. They were outside in the light rain and could feel magic fluctuating on the other side of the island. Both of them recognised their own ally. They stared at each other briefly, before Tsumibito and Lelouch performed Black Judgement and its white counterpart repeatedly. The untrained eye could not see the two men as they kept 'stepping' all over the skies and trying to cut each other to pieces; creating shockwaves where they collided.

The onslaught stopped with Lelouch grabbing Tsumibito's neck. Lelouch was miraculously unharmed, and showed that he was too fast and too powerful for Tsumibito to catch up with. He was starting to wonder how much stronger he was than Tsumibito, because said man got at least twenty more cuts on his white skin; some of which were spilling a lot of blood. He even slowed down the regeneration process by cutting deeper than usual.

Lelouch summoned his wings to keep himself in the air as he threw Tsumibito straight back down onto the twentieth floor, creating another hole in the roof. He shot himself higher up into the sky, and then bolted down to the castle after calling off his wings. As soon as he hit the ground (landing on Tsumibito as a result), he instantly summoned his wings and created a gigantic black shockwave so strong that the entire floor and its walls collapsed beneath and around them. The two men fell straight to the nineteenth floor.

The rain stopped momentarily.

The room Lelouch and Tsumibito were now in was the same room Lelouch used his Geass on Zeref in. The room was quite well-lit because of the new hole above them. But it was empty, which made Lelouch assume when he was last in this exact room that Tsumibito didn't really have a lot of things to put on an island, let alone a castle. To him, that was pretty amusing.

Lelouch got up from on top of Tsumibito and walked to his right side. Tsumibito's white skin was cracked open completely from his head and down to his six-pack. His arms were still covered up by the skin, however. He had twenty deep cuts across his body and blood soaked his white hair.

It was official: Tsumibito had lost the fight.

He looked up to Lelouch with a serious glare and asked, "How is it you have so much power left over? I'm completely drained."

"Have you heard of Second Origin, Tsumibito?" Lelouch questioned without looking at him.

"Second Origin?" Tsumibito never heard of it before until now.

"It's a fairly recent discovery actually. Your old friend Ultear and I figured it out by ourselves as soon as the discovery was made public. That was about a month ago."

Tsumibito made a note to himself to keep up-to-date with the happenings of Fiore from now on. He didn't bother ask about Ultear and what she was doing with Lelouch. He honestly didn't care.

Lelouch kept speaking. "Put simply: Second Origin helps wizards draw out a second 'container' of magic from within themselves. Using that, they are able to increase the power of their magic exponentially. That is why I was able to defeat you so easily; that and I trained thoroughly in martial arts for four whole years." He looked down, with a serious look on his face, at Tsumibito lying on the ground. His lone purple eye stared at Tsumibito as he said, "I said it once, and I'll say it again: Checkmate."

Tsumibito glanced away and scoffed. It still annoyed him being defeated like this. But he couldn't do anything about it now. He didn't have the strength to retaliate anymore. But he could still talk. "So what are you going to do to me now? Are you going to kill me?"

"No," Lelouch stated bluntly.

"!" That was strange to Tsumibito. He thought Lelouch would've wanted to kill him; he made sure that was the case.

"At least not yet," he justified. "I still need answers from you and Zero when I find him. When I lock you up back in Fiore, you will answer every single question I have for you. When I say you have outlived your usefulness, I will personally execute you myself." He raised his left hand over Tsumibito. "So in the meantime…"

Lelouch used Restrict on Tsumibito, preventing him from moving at all. "…I will keep you here until I'm done with this place."

Tsumibito chuckled as he sensed someone approaching the floor. _So he doesn't know yet? Interesting…_

Lelouch asked, "What's so funny?"

"It looks like an old friend of ours has just arrived."

As he said that, Zero appeared from the staircase and saw the scene in front of him. He stood still as his magic finally came back to him. "You…" He growled his next words. "_You bastard…!_"

Lelouch looked up and blinked in surprise. "Zero… What are you doing here?"

"_I should be asking you that!_" Zero sprinted at Lelouch, who stepped to the side as Zero stopped and pivoted on his foot and went to punch Lelouch in the head.

Lelouch caught the fist with his left hand (but noted that it stung his palm). "I get it now. You came all the way here to kill Tsumibito yourself. Am I wrong?" His tone was serious as he glared at the mask in front of him.

Zero growled as he retreated and stared at Tsumibito on the ground.

Tsumibito looked at him with his eyes, because his head was held in place. "Yes, I'm still alive. But I wouldn't try to kill me just yet if I were you. Lelouch told me he was going to lock me up and make me answer questions, as well as you. So I recommend restraining yourself."

Zero glanced at Lelouch. "You're going to let him _live_?"

"Once he's outlived his usefulness; yes."

"_Are you an idiot?! You know he won't cooperate with you!_"

"I'll force him to," Lelouch stated sternly as he began to walk to the stairs to the eighteenth floor. "Now if you don't mind, I need to check up on my Generals-"

Zero used his magic to launch his mechanical fingers and wrapped them around Lelouch.

"!" Lelouch glanced back at Zero.

Zero swung Lelouch around the room twice and threw him through the window Zeref was looking at earlier; the direction where the Isle of the Dragons would be. "You're a fool, Lelouch! How can you be so naïve?! He is you as much as you are him!" He summoned his Float System and flew at blinding speed out the outside.

Tsumibito was alone. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and thought to himself. _That's right. I am Lelouch, and so is Zero. But… Zero and I used to be…_

* * *

End of Chapter 21

**(A/N: Natsu and I agreed to do different parts of the author's notes. He'll do the beginning, and I'll do the end. Now to what I wanted to say…**

**The poll on my bio page is still up as you read this. It will stay there until this arc finishes, which might be up until possibly before thirty chapters of this story. So please vote after you read this if you haven't already.**

**If you're wondering about what Tsumibito was talking about before the chapter ended, then don't worry. That will be the next chapter, where I'll explain **_**almost**_** everything that I've hidden from you for most of this story so far. I still have one thing I'm not telling you about until the story reaches that point. I know what to do, but it's not written down yet. And if you have trouble picturing what his Vanguard form looks like, then look up **_**Bleach**_**'s Aizen and his Hogyoku form during his fight with Kisuke, Yoruichi and Isshin. Just remove the ball in his chest, and you have Vanguard. And also, if you were wondering what Lelouch looks like when he readies his battle pose, then look up Yasha from **_**Asura's Wrath**_** on Google.**

**Thanks for reading the latest chapter. Please leave a review if you want to say anything, and stick around for when the next chapter comes out.**

**Have a nice day.)**


	22. Memories of a Nobody

Chapter 22: Memories of a Nobody

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: Hey guys! I'm so proud of my friend Lelouch; I'm gonna fight him when I get back into the world! That bastard Tsumibito got his arse handed to him!**

**Anyway, I've been informed by Ebi that this is a flashback chapter. So there won't be any **_**big**_** fights until the end. But don't worry! I'm sure Ebi knows what he's doing!**

**Ebi told me that the best music for this chapter would be anything that is emotional or sounds sweet. So fire up that new tab and open up YouTube! Have fun, and if characters are hard to picture, then go the **_**Fairy Tail**_** wiki!)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass**_**, **_**Fairy Tail**_**, or any of the original design for the expies.**

* * *

Three things happened to Lelouch when he was sent to the new world he was told about.

One of those things was that Lelouch was split in two; one of him was a manifestation of his memories, and the other was the real thing. In order for Lelouch to have crossed over, he needed a counterpart that would fill in the space in the parallel world, Edolas. That counterpart consisted of his memories, and Lelouch would eventually wake up with no recollection of who he was in the past.

Which brings up the next thing that happened.

Lelouch was supposed to have ended up at Earth Land on the 7th of July X 777. But when the portal to Earth Land appeared on that day, a young man named Jellal (and eventually Mystogan) sealed up the portal successfully because it had similar properties to Anima, the other known world-crossing portal. As a result, Lelouch's real body was left in limbo. It would only appear in the world after seven years, where another portal as strong as the one he was supposed to exit from would be able to be summoned over the white field where Magnolia would eventually be taken from.

Lelouch's memories didn't have that problem, and that's where the third thing that happened to Lelouch comes in.

Edolas-Lelouch arrived in the parallel world on the 7th of July X 777 with no difficulty. But nothing major on that day happened in that world, except for the fact that a few months ago before the 7th of July, Prince Jellal actually left Edolas through one of the Anima portals. And in those next few months, Mystogan would close the portal that would've allowed Lelouch to find out what happened on the fated day.

If Edolas-Lelouch went to Earth Land instead of the original host, then things may have been different. But fate was not kind enough to make things easy for our young saviour. That was how the universe worked, after all.

This is the story of Edolas-Lelouch: the prequel to the events that would change the futures of everyone forever.

* * *

**July 7, X 777**

Lelouch stirred himself awake as he heard a voice calling to him. It was faint, but it was clear to him that it was there. He felt a light shaking motion on his left shoulder, which helped him gather more energy to wake up. Slowly, ever so slowly, Lelouch vi Britannia awoke to the sight of a little girl with short and messy scarlet hair, and she was wearing a black rag that covered most of her body, checking to see if he was conscious.

He groaned and startled the young girl, which was evident in how she scurried away a few metres. His vision began to clear up as he glanced at her for a moment, and began to get up from lying down. He looked down at his clothing.

He was wearing one of his usual sets of casual clothing, but it wasn't the brown jacket or the grey pants. It was the pink buttoned-up undershirt with a white jacket with black lining and a dark green tie. He also was wearing light grey pants with black slip-on shoes. These were clothes he wore that one time he was out with Shirley trying to buy Coach Villeta a birthday present.

He doesn't know about the other world, Earth Land, so he does not yet know that he was split in two before he arrived. That wasn't mentioned to him; he was told that he would be going to a world full of magic. Not that that really helped him.

But he already accepted that this was him just returning the favour.

He turned his attention to the little girl with the scarlet hair and said sternly, "You."

The girl flinched, feeling intimidated by the stranger.

Lelouch continued. "Where am I right now?" He scanned the area quickly, and noted that out in the open was what looked like a giant kingdom. He was on a cliff side, and it appeared to be the afternoon. But he noticed that the clouds were at ground level, which made him deduce that he was floating in the air on some sort of giant rock.

He looked back at the scarlet-haired child, and took note that she was still too scared to talk. He sighed, and mentally told himself to act more genuine. He softened his voice. "Hey… It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Can you please tell me where I am?"

The child responded weakly, but loud enough for him to hear, "Y-You're n-near the R-Royal City, s-sir…" She brought her hands up to her eyes. She was quite clearly a very timid individual.

Lelouch sat up and crossed his legs. He smiled. "I see. Can you please tell me more about this city, Miss…?"

"Erza," she blurted out. "My name is E-Erza, sir…"

_Erza… _"That's a lovely name, Erza. My name's Lelouch; Lelouch…" He instantly came up with a new surname in his head, seeing as how 'Lamperouge' held connections to his past. He didn't want to stay connected to the past anymore, because what would the point of killing himself have been for if he was still sentimental? Besides, this new world was a fresh start, in his opinion; so a change of a last name wouldn't hurt.

He finished his sentence. "Lelouch Knightwalker." He liked the ring that gave off.

"Lelouch Knightwalker…" Erza repeated to herself. She looked up and nodded. "Okay, I'll try my best to tell you what I know."

And so, Lelouch 'Knightwalker' learnt everything Erza was told about during her short time alive. It wasn't too much, but Lelouch appreciated the information regardless. He learnt about the King of Edolas: Faust, and his Royal Army, the Exceeds, and he learnt about how magic worked in Edolas and where they got their magic from (Earth Land, although Erza did not know about there being counterparts of every person in Edolas that lived there).

Lelouch wasn't impressed by that last piece of information, but he kept to himself in fear of making Erza feel guilty about being excited to tell him all of these things she knew. He had to admit that she was quite bright, and even fairly knowledgeable; it was strange to Lelouch because she was fairly timid. He thought timid people usually don't really like talking too much (or so he thought until now). Lelouch noted during Erza's explanation that she was enjoying herself. It was clear to Lelouch that his listening to her raised her confidence.

But he wondered after scanning what she was wearing, where her parents were and what she was doing out here alone.

Being very careful with his words, he asked Erza about her family. As he expected, she went very quiet for what felt like ages, and finally answered while avoiding eye contact, "I don't… …have a family…"

Lelouch's brow deepened as he could understand the feeling of being all alone with no-one there to help him. He got up and sat down next to Erza, trying to provide comfort to her by having close company. "Do you have any memories of your family? Brothers, sisters…?"

Erza shook her head. "I didn't have any brothers or sisters… And I don't know where my parents have gone. I was 4 when I last saw them…"

"And how old are you now?"

"I'm 9 now…" She rested her chin on her knees as Lelouch tried to hide the pain he felt inside. "I've lived on the streets ever since. Some people would be nice and they would give me something to eat or something to wear, but a lot of people would scare me away from their places. I've been trying to make a living ever since…"

Listening to Erza's story was absolutely heart-wrenching. Lelouch's life was bad, but Erza has already gone through so much in just five or six years. Hell, she had so many more years to go through still! How much would she have to go through before she could live a normal life? The likely answer made Lelouch sick to his stomach.

Lelouch looked up from Erza and noticed about five people approaching them. He asked Erza, "Just a quick question: when I got here, how noticeable and how long ago was my arrival?"

"Eh?" Erza was a little taken aback by the question, but soon answered, "There was a large hurricane where you were. That was about an hour ago."

Lelouch looked up again and noticed that the five people walking to them were most likely from the Royal Army. They were wearing matching silver helmets, spears, and even armour. The armour was mostly dark blue with light blue outlines. It was light armour, which meant the guards could move fairly fast.

When they approached the two of them, Lelouch got up onto one knee, holding Erza close to him. He whispered to her, "Just let me handle this, okay?"

She nodded, and looked shyly at the guards who stopped a few metres in front of her and Lelouch. One of them asked with a commanding voice, "What are the two of you doing up here? What was that light that appeared an hour ago?"

Lelouch scowled and thought up of a quick and effective excuse. "My name is Lelouch Knightwalker. I was using a special lacrima that I've collected for a long time. I was trying to show Erza what I accomplished with what I owned."

"Who is 'Erza'?"

Lelouch never thought he would have to say this, but in order to try and get out of trouble… "Erza is my little sister."

Erza's eyes widened and she looked at Lelouch in astonishment.

Lelouch kept up the façade. "She and I have lost our home a little while ago, so we eventually ended up here at the Royal City. What we are wearing is all we have left."

The guards seemed to have considered Lelouch's 'story'. They muttered to each other about what to do with two 'siblings' who used up a powerful lacrima just for a little show. It seemed ridiculous, but Lelouch sounded very convincing. It helped that most guards in kingdoms were as dumb as a rock anyway.

After a couple more minutes of whispering and muttering, one of the guards walked up to Lelouch and Erza and said to them, "We will take you to a holding chamber in the palace. When you both arrive there, we will give you some food and water, and then we will report to the King what you have just told us. Is that understood?"

Lelouch replied with a nod.

"Come with us, then." The guard turned back around and the group of men began to walk back in the direction they came from.

Lelouch got up with Erza in his arms. He looked down as she stood up fully. "Can you walk?"

She nodded, avoiding eye contact again.

"Hey… Look at me," he said softly.

She did so.

"If you want, you and I can be brother and sister from now on. I used to have a sister, so I know how to take care of the both of us. Is that okay with you?"

Erza looked at Lelouch with the sweetest eyes, and she began to tear up. She buried her face into Lelouch's pants and sobbed into them. Lelouch knelt down and hugged her as she managed to mutter out, "Thank you…"

"Everything is going to be alright…" Lelouch softly stroked her hair to calm her tears. "Your brother Lelouch is here to protect you." He pushed her back softly, holding her by the shoulders. "Isn't that right?"

Erza Knightwalker wiped her tears away and pulled a smile that reminded Lelouch of his real little sister, Nunnally. "Right, Big Brother!"

* * *

And so, two weeks passed by for Lelouch and Erza Knightwalker: the surrogate brother and sister duo.

Getting accepted into the kingdom of Edolas was a little more difficult for Lelouch and Erza than expected; because Lelouch had to come up with different stories for different questions he was presented with by a lot of the guards. But after successful approval from the King himself, Lelouch and Erza became citizens of the Royal City, were given a small home, and if they desired, were allowed to sign up to the Royal Army.

Lelouch, who decided to live his life differently, considered signing up and try to rise up in the ranks of the Army. But when he was told that Erza could sign up as well, he was a little hesitant. Thankfully, she had to be at least 13 before she could sign up (Lelouch thought that was _still_ ridiculous), but what she might do at that age was what concerned Lelouch the most. After all, he was now her big brother.

But he didn't decline the idea.

Erza, in Lelouch's eyes, had the potential to become a strong and independent woman. She was different from Nunnally, in that Erza had no handicap; she was a fully functioning human being. Although she was timid, he concluded that it was possible for her to change that. So Lelouch tried asking her if she wanted to join the Army when she was old enough.

Her reply shocked him, but he accepted it. She said, "If I can protect my big brother by joining the Army, then I _want_ to join. I want to help you like you helped me. I want to become strong enough to protect you, Lelouch."

That determination was what made Lelouch decide to start exercising and become strong, so that he could protect her properly.

But oh, how he _hated_ exercising. He and exercise did not fit well with each other. Exercise would destroy him all the time if he tried to do it, so he did everything he possibly could've to avoid it at all costs. But that was the 'old' Lelouch; this one was ready to change for the better. And he would start the very next day after Erza gave him his answer.

His first few days of exercise were absolutely appalling. He struggled to do even ten push-ups. He would take breaks feeling completely drained of energy, and when he went back to exercising, he would do less than the first time. Yes, Lelouch was pathetic. And yes, he knew it. But he swore to himself that he would see through it.

And then he signed up to the Army.

* * *

**Two years later; November 29, X 779**

Lelouch quickly rose in the ranks due to his vast intelligence and quick learning. In such a short time span, he became the Lieutenant of the Second Magic War Division. As a Lieutenant, Lelouch was acquired to wield a magic item. He chose the Magic Spear: Ten Commandments; one of the strongest weapons available. Only a Lieutenant or higher were authorised to use something that powerful. Over the years, Lelouch was trained in hand-to-hand combat and weapon use. Added on with his exercising, Lelouch eventually got good at it.

He had the small six-pack to prove it.

Lelouch over the couple of years learnt more about Edolas through history books and questions he asked people around the city. For example, he learnt that Earth Land had counterparts of everyone in Edolas, and that caused Lelouch to conclude that he had a counterpart as well (how else could he have existed in Edolas?). After concluding the significance of the 7th of July X 777 having to have happened on Earth Land instead of Edolas, and using different ideas about how he could've split in two, Lelouch confirmed he was not the real thing. But he grew to accept that fact, because it was still him regardless; it was just that he was (what he thought was possibly the truth and based on what he was told before he arrived in Edolas) a physical manifestation of his own memories.

Erza grew up and practically followed Lelouch's footsteps. Now 12 years old, she took on what Lelouch taught her: the strategies of war (he even taught her how to play chess, which she became pretty good at), the philosophy of helping the weak not being oppressed by the strong, and she even learnt from Lelouch about his dark side (which he demonstrated one time when she was 11, where she was being yelled at by someone on the street; Erza forgot about the details, but Lelouch explained to her that his past was very dark and he didn't want to talk about it yet).

Tomorrow (the 30th of November) was her birthday; that was what she told Lelouch when he asked her a couple of years ago. She could at least remember that date. But the next day was going to be something special for her. It will be the day she could join the Royal Army, and could then carry out her promise she made to Lelouch.

Right now, Lelouch and Erza were in their living room in their small house. The room had simple decorations: a sofa, a couple of lamps, a coffee table and a chair near the fireplace. It was night-time, and Lelouch and Erza were sitting near the fireplace, with Erza on Lelouch's lap as he read a magazine quietly to himself. There was an article written by a man named Gajeel, and he actually quite enjoyed his writings. No-one else liked him, but Lelouch praised him for speaking out against the corruption in the Royal City. Sometimes, Lelouch would secretly give him information about certain corrupt members of the Army to help with his stories. Because of that, he and Gajeel became good friends.

Lelouch was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with black suit pants and black slip-on shoes. He had the two top buttons undone. Erza was sleeping deeply on Lelouch's chest with her eyes closed. She wore a pink dress that went down to her knees. She grew taller (up to Lelouch's solar plexus) and she let her hair reach down to her tailbone. It was tied up into a ponytail, and she kept the fringe that covered a little bit of her right eye.

Lelouch took his bookmark from the side-table next to the chair and placed it in his magazine. He closed it and set it down as he shook Erza lightly to wake her up. "Hey, Erza… You awake?"

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Lelouch in a small daze. "Yeah, I'm awake… What is it, Big Brother?"

"Tomorrow's your birthday, you know? It's getting late. I'll take you to bed, okay?" Lelouch not only planned on taking Erza over to sign up to the Army (because she asked him last year that was what she wanted to do), he got her a practise spear to train with (she saw him use his weapon in a small demonstration he showed her and decided she wanted to learn how to use one).

Erza rubbed her eyes and murmured, "But I want to stay with you… Can't we…?"

Lelouch chuckled a little and patted her head with his left hand. "Don't worry; we'll have plenty of time to hang out tomorrow. Right now you need to get some rest so you can enjoy yourself. Alright?"

Erza nodded as she dozed off. "Okay…" was the last thing she muttered before falling asleep again.

Lelouch stretched his arms and legs and picked her up, bridal style. He went upstairs and to her room. It was too dark to see what was in Erza's room, but Lelouch knew where the corners were anyway. He opened up her bedroom door, turned over the sheets, and placed her softly on the mattress. He pulled the sheets over, and kissed Erza on the forehead gently.

"Goodnight, Erza." He got up, walked out and closed her door, and went back downstairs and into the living room. He turned off the fireplace and checked the clock. It was about 9:14pm. He made his way over to the bathroom and turned on the light.

The bathroom was fairly generic. It had a bath and a shower unit in one, a sink and a towel rack. He walked over to the mirror and stared into it.

There were two things Lelouch noted over the last couple of years.

The first thing was that he hasn't aged yet. While some people might not change in appearance in a couple of years, it was odd for Lelouch because he at least expected to mature in his facial features. But he hasn't. He thought perhaps that it had something to do with his Earth Land counterpart.

And then there was the fact that he no longer had Geass.

Lelouch deducted that because he wasn't the _real_ Lelouch, he wasn't cursed with the Power of the King. While it was comforting in the sense that he could talk to people without using the power on them accidentally (like the horrible memory of Euphemia, but he quickly buried that in the back of his mind), it was actually quite bothersome. Not being able to use it on people when some situations would be best for it to deal with was quite the annoyance for Lelouch.

But then again, you can't always get what you want; but you just might find you get what you need.

And Lelouch felt he needed Erza. Without her, Lelouch would've had a much more difficult time living in this strange world. With Erza by his side, it eased the confusion he felt when he arrived in Edolas two years ago. And for that, he was grateful to her.

But there was something else Erza was able to fill in Lelouch's heart: his uncanny desire for a little sister.

Lelouch missed Nunnally; and Erza, even though he hated thinking of her that way, was a fitting substitute. He couldn't help seeing Erza in the same way he saw Nunnally; it was like an instinct to him. But he didn't mind accepting that part of himself, at least. Besides, Erza didn't have any form of family apart from Lelouch anyway.

After staring at the mirror for what Lelouch counted to be four minutes, he sighed and turned off the light and walked out of the bathroom. There was a knock on the door, and Lelouch curiously opened it to see a solider from the Army panting. The streets were empty and silent.

"Lieutenant… Knightwalker…" the soldier said through breaths.

"Catch your breath first, soldier. Regain your composure," Lelouch ordered.

After a moment, the solider spoke again. "Lieutenant, you've been requested to go and listen in on the King's private meeting tonight immediately."

"Why? Don't they know that I need sleep for my sister's birthday tomorrow?"

"Yes, they did mention that. But they said that it won't be very long; five minutes or something."

Lelouch pondered this. Meetings like that were always held in confidential areas and no-one except for the King, the Generals, and a select few individuals, were allowed to attend them. The fact that a Lieutenant, a relatively new one at that, was being invited to something like this was a little strange.

Lelouch gave the soldier his answer. "Casual or Uniform?"

"You can come in what you're wearing now."

"I'll be there in less than twenty minutes."

The two men saluted each other, and the soldier walked off in the direction of the castle. Lelouch walked out of his small house, closed and locked the door with the key in his pocket, and made his way to the castle as well. He made a note to himself to get this meeting over and done with.

* * *

**Fifteen minutes later…**

Lelouch opened the door to see all of the Captains: Panther Lily, Hughes and Sugarboy, Chief Byro, Assistant Chief Coco, and the King himself sitting in their chairs. The room's marble walls were painted a sky blue with black pillars in all four corners. In the centre of the room were a shiny turquoise table, and six chairs with three on the sides. Sitting in the three chairs to Lelouch's right were the Captains (from the closest to the King's chair to closest to Lelouch) Chief Byro (who wasn't a Captain), Hughes and Sugarboy. Coco and the Exceed, Panther Lily (who Lelouch still couldn't understand; he was a cat, and he was _gigantic_) were (from the King to Lelouch) sitting in their own chairs. The chair closest to Lelouch was empty, and it belonged to his Captain, Shokan.

The chairs were made of smooth wood with a pattern where the head would rest, and the cushions were a dark red. King Faust's chair was regally designed and painted in a sheet of gold with a purple cushion. He was sitting on the far end of the table. He didn't look like a presentable King; he was slouching in his chair and half-asleep.

Even Lelouch wasn't that lazy before he arrived in Edolas.

Panther Lily, clad in armour, stood up from his chair and spoke. "Lieutenant Lelouch Knightwalker: step forward." His tone was stern and quite serious.

Lelouch complied as he stood close to the table. Panther Lily sat back down.

Faust sat up straight and forced himself to stay awake. "Lieutenant Knightwalker, we would like to ask you a few questions."

Lelouch blinked. "If this is about my sister, then you don't have t-"

"No, it isn't," Panther Lily interrupted. "That is unimportant. This is about something completely different."

Lelouch looked at the Exceed. "If that's the case, then I have no idea what you're talking about."

The King spoke again. "We would like to know where you were yesterday at 4 o'clock in the afternoon."

_A very specific time,_ Lelouch commented silently. "I was with my sister getting her a haircut. Did something happen during that time?"

"Yes…" Faust was getting a little agitated. "For some reason, Captain Shokan of the Second Magic War Division has disappeared without a trace."

Lelouch raised his eyebrows. "But how? My Captain is one of the strongest individuals in the entire Royal Army. He can't possibly disappear so easily."

"And that is why…" Byro, the ugly bastard Lelouch _despised_, spoke up with a little smirk of his face. "…we wanted to talk to you."

Lelouch saw where this was going; it was too simple. "You're accusing me of being responsible for his disappearance," he said matter-of-factly.

No-one said anything in response.

Lelouch hid his anger by closing his eyes and counting to three in his head. When he opened them again, he said, "Why?"

Coco answered enthusiastically. "It's because you're one of the smartest people in the whole Royal Army!"

"Coco," Panther Lily said. "Please don't speak."

Sugarboy looked at Lelouch, appearing fairly enthusiastic. "Well, Lieutenant? What do you have to say?" He was sitting back in his chair with his arms folded.

"That all of you are looking at the wrong person for answers," Lelouch replied with slight venom in his voice.

"It's amazing how serious you sound, Lieutenant Knightwalker," Captain Hughes commented. "Your amazing personality is quite intriguing."

Lelouch ignored Hughes and looked straight into the King's eyes. "If I was involved in this situation, none of you would even realise he was missing. Of that, I am certain."

"Cease your arrogance, Lieutenant," Faust snapped with a small scowl on his face. "I can have you removed from your post instantly if you continue to talk this way."

Lelouch _really_ wanted to have Geass right now. He kept his mouth shut, expecting the King to keep on speaking. Hughes chuckled to himself quietly.

Panther Lily explained. "Let's be clear here, Knightwalker. We've observed you for quite a while, and we know that you have great knowledge of strategy and seem to aim for a high position in the Army. Isn't that right?"

"I fail to see how that is related to a case of a Captain not reporting into the Kingdom on schedule." He did, actually, but he still didn't do anything to Shokan.

Faust scowled harder. He hated when Lelouch got smart, and this was one idea he came up with to get rid of the Lieutenant for good. Lelouch was rising into the ranks way too fast for Faust's liking, and because of that, he feared that Lelouch might overthrow him in a revolution. He apprehended Captain Shokan just for this chance to remove Lelouch from the face of the planet.

Faust replied. "What did I just say, Lieutenant? I will remove you from the Army if you keep this up." But he was kind of hoping Lelouch would keep up what he was doing.

Byro smirked. He had to admit that the kid had guts to talk so sternly in front of the King. If he kept going in this fashion, he would get what Faust promised him: the chance to experiment on Lelouch to see where he came from. He knew that Lelouch had no such lacrima two years ago that could've summoned an enormous golden hurricane. Curious, Byro asked the King after Lelouch was accepted into the Kingdom that if he proved troublesome that he would like to extract his memories with a new experiment he was working on. Faust obviously agreed.

Sugarboy leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. "If Lieutenant Knightwalker is telling the truth, Your Majesty, and if we can no longer find Shokan, then we can assign him as the new Captain."

Lelouch was stunned by the generous idea from Sugarboy.

However, Faust hesitated. "We can't be certain if he's innocent, Captain."

"But I agree with the idea," said Panther Lily. "I believe he has no other motif than to give his little sister a good chance in life."

Coco raised her right hand in the air. "Seconded!"

Hughes chuckled to himself. "I don't care either way. If he does become Captain, then I look forward to seeing his amazing capabilities."

Byro didn't say a word.

Faust was very annoyed. "I will have _none of that_!"

Everyone looked at the King in silence.

He continued. "If you, Lieutenant Lelouch Knightwalker, are proven guilty of holding the Captain captive somewhere, then I will have you kicked out of the Army, and your little sister Erza will never see her opportunity to sign up! In fact, I will make her life _hell_!"

"With all due respect, _Your Majesty_…" and Lelouch said that sternly. "…you can't do that without a single trace of evidence. Also, it's also stated in the law you enforce here in the Kingdom that if the King is intentionally accusing someone of a crime they didn't commit because they do not like them, then you will get punished by those in charge of Extalia."

Faust growled. Since he was blinded by his fear, he forgot about that law. This was why he hated the Exceeds and planned on getting rid of them.

Lelouch didn't stop there. "I propose we confess everything we know; even you, Your Majesty. If we settle this matter now, then the Exceeds won't find out about this and we can move on with our lives."

Faust abruptly stood up from his chair. His face was full of rage as he growled his next words. "_I will give you one last chance…!_"

The Captains stood up from their seats. "We apologise, Lieutenant," said Panther Lily and Sugarboy simultaneously. "We know where your Captain is being held."

"YOU TWO WILL SIT DOWN _NOW_!" yelled Faust. The cover was blown, and that made him even angrier.

"Your Majesty," said Panther Lily calmly. "As Captains, we can exchange information with the Lieutenants in the event that their own Division's Captain is absent from work. This is completely legal."

Faust was at a loss for words.

Internally, Lelouch was smirking. On the outside, he was successfully covering up the fact he was literally mocking Faust in his mind. It is incidents like this that fuel Lelouch's hatred for corrupt kings, and why he takes great pleasure in seeing them squirm.

Panther Lily looked at Lelouch. "Follow me and Sugarboy, Lieutenant." The two said men walked out of the door, with Coco following closely behind.

Lelouch saluted lazily (a mockery to Faust) and walked out of the room.

Faust sat back down and smashed his fist on the table. _Damn you Lelouch! You will regret ever signing up to my Army!_

* * *

**November 30; the next day…**

Lelouch was tired.

He was sleeping on the couch like a sack of potatoes. Last night was a pain in the neck for him. After he found Captain Shokan, he told Panther Lily and Sugarboy that he needed rest for his sister's birthday the next day. Thankfully, Shokan was fine.

But that didn't save Lelouch from not getting enough sleep.

How was he going to tell his sister about this? How was he going to explain that he was exhausted from the night before because the King was a complete twat? How was he going to help her enjoy her 13th birthday? Was he even going to bother tell her about this? Maybe one day, but who would care right now?

He was reminded of a similar situation with Nunnally about nine years ago from now, where he had to stay up late at night to help his little sister sleep peacefully and not get a recurring nightmare. This wasn't the day before her birthday, of course, but Lelouch barely had the energy the next day to even stay awake. He looked like a ghost for hours.

Lelouch hoped that wouldn't happen today.

He slowly stirred awake and checked the time by going outside and searching for the Sun. He predicted it was about 6:30am, so he headed back inside for a shower.

Lelouch thought about his Captain as he stood underneath the showerhead. He and Shokan got along pretty well, despite that they acted completely different from each other. Lelouch was a lot less Braun and a lot more Brain, while Shokan was more based on using his fists. By no means was the Captain stupid, but he did rely on Lelouch's thinking quite a bit when needed.

Lelouch turned off the shower and stood out onto the mat on the floor. He took a towel from the rack and looked into the mirror, which was slightly fogged up. As he inspected his face, he thought to himself, _Hmm… My eyes are a little baggy, but it isn't too bad; Erza might not notice it. I just need to stay focused and awake for today, and then I can catch up on sleep._

He dried himself off, brushed his teeth, got into a clean change of clothes, and got ready to wake up his little sister.

Lelouch was now wearing the same clothing he wore two years ago; a pink undershirt, a dark green tie, a white jacket, grey pants and black shoes. Of course, due to his new physique, he had to get it resized fairly recently. But it was worth it in his opinion.

He walked up the stairs and approached Erza's wooden door. He opened it, and with a big smile on his face (a bloody convincing one, even though he was tired), he leapt onto the bed and bounced up and down on all fours, waking Erza up and confusing her as she bounced up and down with him.

"It's your birthday, Erza! Happy Birthday!" Lelouch was clearly enjoying himself.

Erza raised her voice and said (while moving up and down on the bed), "OooKaaYaaYaaYyy!"

Lelouch eventually stopped and got off the bed. "Make sure you get ready," he said enthusiastically. "We're going to go out for breakfast today. Where would you like to go for your birthday?"

Erza wiped her eyes and stretched her arms as she answered, "Can we go down to that café I really like?"

"Of course we can," Lelouch confirmed. "Where would you like to go for lunch?"

Erza smiled cheerfully. "I want to make it a surprise!"

Lelouch blinked in surprise himself. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yup!"

Lelouch laughed wholeheartedly as he bowed dramatically with his arms to the right side. "Okay, I have the perfect place in mind. I'll give you your present when we get there." He raised his head to meet Erza' eyesight. "Is that alright?"

"I don't mind!" Erza replied joyfully.

Lelouch smiled again as he stood up straight and headed for the door. "Well then, let's get ready."

Erza nodded as Lelouch closed her door and headed downstairs.

* * *

Lelouch and Erza were about to get lunch together. Erza was wearing a frilly white dress that went down to her ankles, with white slippers to match. Her hair was untied and flowed down to her tailbone. She looked just like a princess in Lelouch's opinion.

They arrived at the Royal Palace as Lelouch knelt down and said to Erza, "This is the castle, where the soldiers in the Royal Army work for most of the day." He looked at her with a serious look on his face. "Now I'm going to ask you a serious question, Erza."

Erza looked at her 'brother'. "Okay."

"Are you absolutely certain that you want to join? No-one will judge you if you don't want to sign up. Will you swear your loyalty to the King and follow his every order?"

Erza looked away briefly to think about her answer. Satisfied, she gave Lelouch her answer while looking at him. "I swear my loyalty to you."

"!"

"I swore to protect you a long time ago, didn't I?" Erza asked. "I want to be with you, Big Brother. That hasn't changed." She smiled sweetly like she did two years ago.

Lelouch smiled back and hugged her out of the blue. "You really are a special person, Erza." He pulled away and held her shoulders. "You will always be my little sister, no matter what happens."

Erza hugged Lelouch back. "I love you, Lelouch."

Lelouch returned it. "And I love you too." He let go and got up slowly. "So then; let's have lunch."

"Wait, you mean in the castle?" Erza looked very surprised.

"Well of course. Where else will the soldiers eat during their breaks?"

Sadly, this happiness could only last so long…

* * *

**May 2, X 781**

King Faust has outlawed Magic Guilds (and now are called Dark Guilds) in Edolas in an attempt to preserve the magic lacrima in the world. His excuse was that the lacrima supply was running low, and that the Guilds were causing nothing but trouble since it was freely distributed. That freedom was no longer allowed, and only those in the Royal Army and the King himself were able to use them.

With the early retirement of Shokan due to an incurable injury, Lelouch took up the mantle of the Second Magic War Division's Captain. Erza Knightwalker, his surrogate little sister (but no-one else except she and Lelouch knew this), climbed up the ranks of the Army as fast as Lelouch did. She had now been a Lieutenant in Lelouch's Division for nearly a whole year.

When the two of them heard the news, Lelouch was furious; Erza was quite annoyed as well.

Lelouch was wearing the Captain's uniform for his Division: a white jacket with a large collar, a white singlet with black lining, a pink sash, white hakama, black toe-socks and white sandals. Erza was wearing a halter-type armour breastplate with light-armoured gauntlets and greaves on her forearms and forelegs (respectively). She was also wearing a dark bikini bottom with a white cloth obscuring her hips. She had a dark blue scarf around her neck underneath her hair. Her scarlet hair was long and wavy, and she loosely tied up her hair into a ponytail. Her bust size is fairly big, but not fully developed.

The Captain and the Lieutenant were inside the courtyard of the castle grounds. Lelouch walked through the crowds of people, leaving Erza behind.

"Captain, wait!" she called out. "Where are you going?"

"Stay where you are, Erza. The King and I have to talk."

Faust was now standing in front of his prized possession: the very thing that will eliminate the Exceed when activated. The room was massive, and the machine Faust stood in front of covered the entire end of the back. There are two large statues crafted to look like the King's face, and a gold pillar was in the middle of these structures. From where Faust stood, there was a keyhole, which would need a special key to activate this large mechanism.

Faust laughed. "Yes! With the new law I passed out, no filthy Guild will be able to use _my_ lacrima!"

"FAUST!" cried a voice the King was not very fond of.

He turned around and saw Captain Lelouch Knightwalker with his Magic Spear in hand. He changed it to Silfarion; a spear with a triangular, arrow-shaped spearhead. He could move at high speeds with this form. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing? There's no real reason to have outlawed those Guilds!"

Faust smirked as he faced Lelouch completely. "Why are you so upset, Captain Knightwalker? With this, you can use more magic than ever before. You should be grateful."

"That's a lie! You think I didn't hear you just now? Even if you _do_ plan on distributing magic amongst your forces, you cannot take away from the citizens of Edolas what doesn't rightfully belong to you!"

Faust shot back. "You fool! I am the King! A king's power is absolute! I can use my power in any way I desire!"

In an instant, Lelouch had his spear in front of Faust's face, scaring him. He said in a low and callous tone, "_Shut up_. You're nothing but a selfish old _sack_ of corruption who doesn't know how to use their power properly. You think everything is rightfully yours?" He pulled back his spear for a thrust. "Then you should die where you stand!"

Suddenly, Lelouch was tackled by Panther Lily to the ground and held in submission. "Stop, Lelouch! That's enough!"

Lelouch's face was pressed against the ground, and had a knee in his spine. "Panther Lily…! You're going to let this happen!? I thought you were better than this!"

Panther Lily didn't respond. Faust ordered him to do this if it happened. He tried to talk himself out of it, but Faust was still the King.

Faust calmed down and looked down on Lelouch with his chin in the air. "Captain Lelouch Knightwalker: your actions have gone too far. For the attempted murder of the King of Edolas, I am sentencing you to life in prison. And to fulfil Chief Byro's request, he will have full authorisation to experiment on you to find out who you really are."

"!" Realisation dawned on Lelouch. What will happen with Erza?

"Panther Lily," said Faust.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"When you throw _former_ Captain Knightwalker into prison, give his weapon to his sister and tell her she has been promoted to the rank of Captain in the Second Magic War Division."

"At once, Your Majesty." Panther Lily held Lelouch's arms behind his back as he stood up and walked to the exit, leaving behind Lelouch's spear.

Lelouch struggled frantically. "No…! You can't do this…! You're not going to take me away from my sister! She's all that I have le-"

Panther Lily knocked Lelouch out with a chop to his neck and let his head slump forward. Panther Lily carried Lelouch over his shoulder and out of the room.

Faust smirked to himself. "Finally, I have gotten rid of him. Now I am free to do as I wish."

And he was indeed right.

* * *

**Three years later; March 1, X 784**

Many things have changed in the past two and a half years.

Apart from the outlawing of Magic Guilds, many wizards were actually murdered. Captain Erza Knightwalker was manipulated into believing her brother went mad, and was to be held in prison for fear of terrorising Edolas (although she would forever deny what she was told). Thanks to the constant slaughtering of wizards Erza was ordered to carry out (she has killed half of the members of the Dark Guild, Fairy Tail) her mind was soon tainted by the corruption in the Royal Army. Now she took pleasure in killing. If Lelouch saw her like this, he would be horrified and extremely upset.

Lelouch wasn't experimented on, yet. Chief Byro believed that in order for his experiment to work, he needed Lelouch to be mentally weaker than a couple of years ago. Now that Lelouch hardly ever felt like talking, he was finally called to Byro's secret chamber.

The chamber was just a large room with two giant rocks in the middle (the very same room Byro would use to help develop the key to the Dragon Chain Cannon). Lelouch was chained to a rock in a crucifix position, looking like a complete mess while wearing dirty white pants. His head was hung low with his extremely long hair covering his face as Byro walked up to him with a staff in hand.

Byro was smiling as he said, "For a long time, I have been interested in where exactly you came from, Lelouch Knightwalker. So here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to extract your memories with this staff I'm holding, and then I'll report my findings to the King." He snickered like a crazed lunatic.

Lelouch looked up slowly and glared at Byro through his hair. "I wouldn't do that if I was you," he said sternly. "You might regret it."

Byro grinned as he raised his staff. "Watch me." A ball of light appeared at the tip of Byro's staff, and it hit Lelouch in the forehead.

"!" Lelouch's eyes widened as he began to feel an irritating pull in his mind. The pull increased, and Lelouch felt a sharp pain go throughout his entire being. He quickly couldn't resist the pain.

It was then that Lelouch began to scream and thrash about in agony.

Byro laughed out loud as he saw the memory extraction succeeding. He spent many years researching the idea, and seeing it work made him overjoyed. With this, Faust would give him more funding for his research.

But he did not expect what was now happening.

A white silhouette of a man was being pulled out of Lelouch from top to bottom. The figure's head resembled a turnip, and it seemed that a cape covered most of its body. When Byro saw this, he almost ceased the memory extraction.

But his subconscious curiosity got the better of him, and the complete figure fell to the ground and gained colour.

Lelouch stopped screaming and slumped forward. The chains broke and he too fell onto his side. Two men were now in the presence of Chief Byro.

Lelouch opened his eyes, despite feeling excruciating pain all over, and looked at the familiar figure in front of him. "Z-Zero…?"

Byro was at a loss for words. This man called Zero manifested from Lelouch's body and solidified. How was that possible? The memory extraction wasn't meant to be able to materialise memories or copy them, especially _living people_, for that matter; it was meant to store them in a lacrima so the memories could be observed.

But Byro came up with a possibility of what may have happened. The idea made him giggle. "I get it now. You're not a real person, are you, Knightwalker? You must be a physical manifestation of your real self's memories! I don't know how that's possible, but it looks to be true! And now there are two copies of you!" Byro was correct on all accounts.

Zero started to move. Groaning, he got up on all fours, and looked at Byro. "You fool… What have you done?"

Lelouch slowly got up as well, but something was happening to him. His hair colour was turning white, and it was shortening back to its original length. When he looked back up, his purple eyes swirled like crazy and turned red.

And his facial expression seemed… …off.

Lelouch looked incredibly sadistic, and was smiling the same way he did in the darkest hours of his life. He even chuckled the same way he did when he snapped. And his eyes looked even more cold and callous with the red irises.

Lelouch stood up lazily and glared at Byro. "You're dead." He jumped in front of Byro, grabbed him, and then threw him into the rock, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

"Lelouch… Stop…!" Zero muttered, but couldn't do anything. He didn't have enough energy to get up yet.

Byro shuddered. "W-What are you do-"

Lelouch punched him in the face and then in the stomach. "_Giving you what you deserve,"_ Lelouch replied harshly. "_And after I'm done with you, I'm going to kill Faust_ _too_."

"Don't…do it…!" Zero forced himself up onto his feet.

Lelouch punched Byro in the face twice and pulled him down to the ground, letting the small man cower away from Lelouch's uncharacteristic behaviour.

Lelouch pressed his foot down on Byro's chest and brought his hand down onto his neck, choking him. Lelouch started to laugh madly-

Zero pulled Lelouch by his hair and threw him off Byro.

Lelouch sprawled over the floor. "Zero... Why are you-?"

Zero got on top of Lelouch and hit him in the face with the back of his hand. "I was going to ask you that! What the hell happened to you?"

Said man laughed to himself as his hair covered his eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" he questioned with a calm tone as he looked back at the mask. "You and I are just memories of the real Lelouch. Since you and I are no longer one person, the memories of being the Emperor are now the most dominant within me."

"But what about the memories of Ashford Academy? Of Shirley? Of C.C. or Kallen? What about Nunnally?"

"You idiot!" Lelouch punched Zero's mask off his head and got him off from on top of him, revealing nothing but a black smoke coming from his neck. Lelouch didn't even care that Zero was missing his head. "Are you even thinking clearly? Lelouch's most controversial memories are those of being Zero and of being the Emperor. Before he died, he locked up all of his treasured memories to keep up the mask of a tyrant. When he was run through by Suzaku, he only thought of those precious memories in such a short time. Those memories flashed before his eyes, but it wasn't enough for me to stay the same. As a result, I_ am_ the Emperor."

Zero didn't respond as Byro scurried to his feet and ran out of the room. "Guards: come in here and lock these two up! We're going to send them out of this world for good!"

And that was the end for Lelouch Knightwalker as he and Zero were taken through an Anima to Earth Land.

* * *

Lelouch and Zero arrived on a cliff side (where in the future, a certain someone will be buried). It was sunset, and the sea breeze was calm and cool. They will never see Edolas ever again.

They will never see Erza Knightwalker again.

Lelouch and Zero got up from the ground and stared at each other in silence. They knew where they were, and they knew that somewhere, the real Lelouch was out there. If he wasn't, then it would make things easier for them.

Lelouch broke the silence. "So then… What are we going to do now?"

"That depends. What will you do, _Your Majesty_?"

Lelouch laughed. "We have a mission to carry out, don't we? I'm going to carry out one of two things that depend on certain circumstances: Lelouch will kill me, regain his memories, and then fulfil the mission himself. Or, if he can't kill me, I will kill him and do it myself."

"You're hiding another agenda," Zero called. "There's no point in hiding it from me."

Lelouch smiled and answered, "As former Emperor of Britannia, I will work at claiming Earth Land for myself."

Zero didn't say anything. He knew that would be what Lelouch (this one, anyway) would want. It was pretty obvious, seeing as how this was technically just a darker version of the same person.

"Now answer what I asked you," Lelouch said. "What will you do?"

Zero pondered this. If Lelouch was going to conquer Earth Land, and Zero was a knight for justice, then… "I'm going to stop you."

"Hmm?"

"I'm Zero; the man who fights for justice by using the lesser of two evils."

"So that makes me the greater evil?"

"Yes," Zero said bluntly.

"And the mission?"

"I will help the real Lelouch if possible."

Lelouch just had to laugh at this. At least he was certain this was still the same as he used to be. But for him, there was no turning back. There were two last things to discuss.

"What do we tell the real Lelouch?" Edolas-Lelouch asked.

"I say we lie to him for now."

"Your reason being…?"

"If he manages to kill us both, it wouldn't matter anyway. He'll remember everything he did as Zero if I die, and when you die, he'll regain the rest of his memories. Perhaps he'll even receive the memories we have for ourselves."

"You mean 'if' I die? I say you have too much faith in him."

"And you don't?"

"Touché, but that doesn't change the fact that you're not going to make this easy for him by lying."

"Didn't he say that people lie to survive?"

Lelouch smirked even more. It isn't easy arguing with himself. "Alright then… We'll tell him that we're his masks. That will convince him. And about Geass… I'm going to find some contact lenses to stop it if Lelouch tries to use it on me."

"I would say that's one thing you and I can agree upon."

"Of course. After all, we're the same person, in the end."

Zero nodded and turned to walk away. "Until we meet again, _Tsumibito_." And with that, he was gone.

Tsumibito smiled. "Tsu-mi-bi-to… That's Japanese for 'sinner'. How clever of you, Zero."

The rest was now set for those in Earth Land. In another world line, Lelouch Lamperouge never would've appeared in Magnolia. If that happened, Tsumibito and Zero would've killed each other in another location on the continent, never to be observed by anyone. Tsumibito would join Grimoire Heart in four days, and then work his way up into the Eight Kin of Purgatory. In the other world, he wouldn't get far.

Luckily for Tsumibito and Zero, everything shifted to let Lelouch into Earth Land.

* * *

**December 5, X 784**

Back in Edolas, Captain Erza Knightwalker was in her house -that very same house she and her 'brother' lived in- and was sitting in the same chair Lelouch used to sit in.

Her body developed ever further over the years. Now she was 17; two years younger than her Earth Land counterpart. When Knightwalker wasn't acting sadistic and killing wizards, she was at home, crying to herself at night for the loss of the one person she loved as a relative.

In short, she missed Lelouch.

Erza's eyes were closed as she thought about the good times she had with Lelouch. The birthdays, the times they went out to buy food… She missed all of these things. All she wanted right now was to hug her 'brother' and for him to tell her that everything was going to be alright.

But she knew, deep in her heart, that that could never happen now.

She got up from the chair, shed a single tear, and whispered to herself something that she could only have said after Lelouch told her about it. "Happy Birthday, Lelouch." She left her house, happy that he at least told her when his birthday was.

This was the day that Edolas obtained a lacrima that held the Fairy Tail guild inside, and it was also the day Natsu and some of his friends went through Anima in order to bring them back.

* * *

End of Chapter 22

**(A/N: Here's what I did.**

**I gave Erza Knightwalker a back-story.**

**I gave Tsumibito and Zero a back-story.**

**I created an AU fic where it all depended on Lelouch arriving in Earth Land, and **_**not**_** on Tsumibito and Zero appearing in Edolas.**

**I made Edolas-Shokan the Captain of the Second Magic War Division before Lelouch and Erza.**

**I made a Rolling Stones reference. You know… **_**You can't always get what you want…**_

**I made Lelouch dress like Aizen. It worked in my head, so why not?**

**I made you all confused. Possibly…**

**If it still doesn't make sense, then just ask me about anything, and I'll explain it. If you point out something I missed or if something doesn't work in the story, then I will edit what might need to change. Trust me when I say that there is quite a lot of info here. It doesn't completely help when I tried to summarise all of this into one chapter. And no, I'm not splitting it.**

**I hope this didn't bore you. Make sure you leave a review if you have anything to say to me, and please vote in my poll on my bio page. If I don't get enough people, then the poll will be useless. Please think of my poll as a way for you to decide what will happen next in the story; I'm giving you the power.**

**Look forward to an entire chapter of fighting, fighting, and a **_**lot**_** of fighting. Basically, it's a fighting chapter.)**


	23. Divide by Zero

Chapter 23: Divide by Zero

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: Hey, everyone! Natsu here! If you were bored like I was with the last chapter, then this will be a treat! This is going to be one gigantic fight all throughout! Well, there will be a little bit of the end of another fight at about the halfway point, but that doesn't matter!**

**Alright, I'M FIRED UP! *sets body on fire*)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass, Fairy Tail**_**, or the original designs for most of my expies.**

* * *

Lelouch went sailing into the air, over to the Isle of the Dragons and away from the Isle of Sin. Registering what just happened in his head, he flipped backwards twice to gain air control and saw Zero flying over to him with his Hadron Cannons ready to fire. Falling down, Lelouch summoned his wings to stay in the air.

Zero fired, and Lelouch brought up his 'shield' to block the powerful Hadron blast. When the 'shield' broke, Zero advanced and whacked Lelouch on top of the head (but he blocked it just in time). Lelouch went sailing downwards into the forest.

Zero flew down and dodged incoming 'spheres' from below. He changed the Hadron Cannons for the Shinkiro gauntlets and returned fire. Lelouch 'stepped' out of range and appeared above Zero with a charged 'knife', and then sliced downwards.

Zero dodged to his left and let the Arch-Angel Claw fly down into the forest, destroying dozens of trees. The masked man turned to face Lelouch and decked him in the face. Lelouch recovered and tried to do the same to Zero, but he blocked and punched Lelouch in the stomach. Lelouch gagged as Zero came up above Lelouch and kicked him down into the ground, smashing a tree in two.

Zero flew down to where the Wizard Commander crashed and stood tall as Lelouch slowly got up from the ground. He was hunching over and breathing slightly heavier than usual. But he composed himself, stood up straight, and let his wings dissipate. He took off his eye-patch, revealing his permanently activated Geass. He placed it in his left pocket as he stared at the abyss in the middle of Zero's mask.

"You've gotten better, Lelouch."

"…"

"However, you seem to still be inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat. I admit that your magic surpasses my own, but that won't help you in the long run."

Lelouch 'stepped' behind Zero and asked, "And why's that?" He sliced across with his knife-

But Zero blocked his back with his Absolute Defence Shield, creating sparks as Lelouch clashed against it. Lelouch jumped back a couple of metres as Zero turned around to face him. "It's because…" Zero replied. "…you're not fast enough to block some of my strikes."

Lelouch shot back. "I say you're underestimating me."

"How can I underestimate _myself_?"

Lelouch called up a tiny hurricane in his right hand, preparing to use the Arch-Angel Hurricane. "It's quite simple, really." He walked slowly as he said, "Remember the damage you would've seen before you threw me out of the window? That wasn't done equally by me and Tsumibito. Almost all of that was by me." He chucked the Hurricane at Zero, who dodged to the right without difficulty as the burst of wind flew past him.

Zero mocked. "Your aim could use some work."

"I fixed that problem years ago," Lelouch countered as the Hurricane expanded and flew into Zero's back, sending him flying forward from impact. Lelouch jumped up and spun around once as he struck his left elbow into Zero's stomach, sending him flying into several trees. Lelouch landed back down on his feet as he waited for Zero to come back out from hiding.

_If I'm to defeat Zero, I should keep my distance from him as best as I can,_ Lelouch thought to himself. _No matter how much training I've taken from Andreas, my close-quarter combat won't be able to contend with Zero's for long._ Lelouch got back into his fighting stance; his right arm close to his face and his left out in front of him. He charged two 'knives' as he sensed Zero beginning to move.

Two Hadron beams surged through the woods, forcing Lelouch to dodge to the right. Zero closed the distance fast with his Float System and fired his Hadron Cannons point-blank. Lelouch barely 'stepped' out as he appeared high above Zero and swung his arm downwards to project the Arch-Angel Claw with his right hand, and then 'stepped' again in front of Zero and firing the Arch-Angel Claw in his left hand, forcing Zero to dodge backwards.

But Zero saw this tactic coming, and he flew upwards diagonally to avoid the ninety-degree angle attack. Lelouch 'stepped' in front of Zero with wings spread, startling him as Lelouch fired the 'sphere' charged in his left hand. The large attack tore through the ground below as Zero was forced down into the crater with Lelouch's magic.

The attack ceased as Zero's armour cracked for the first time in all of the fights he participated on that day. There was now a big crack in the centre of Zero's armoured chest. The masked man noted to himself that there was no longer a need to analyse how Lelouch fought; this was enough to go on.

He forced himself out of the crater as he looked up at Lelouch, who was looking back down at him. He then looked at his armour and then back up to Lelouch as he changed the Hadron Cannons for the arms of the Shinkiro. "Not bad," he complimented. "I guess I have underestimated you."

"Compliments won't get you anywhere in this situation, Zero," Lelouch called out. "Unless you're going to take this a bit more seriously right now, you're going to end up like Tsumibito."

"That's where you're wrong, Lelouch. Unlike Tsumibito…" He moved past Lelouch at blinding speed, trapping him with his extendable fingers. Lelouch didn't even flinch. Zero floated in the air as he continued to say, "…I will prove to be more of a challenge."

Lelouch whispered, "Shatter." The finger wires surrounding his body completely disintegrated, freeing Lelouch from the masked man's hold.

"!" Zero's fingers magically fixed themselves as he ran through his head possibilities of how Lelouch did what he did.

Lelouch's magic is the opposite of Tsumibito's in the sense that they act like yin and yang; Lelouch could use Shatter (Tsumibito's spell) and Tsumibito could use Restrict (Lelouch's). However, the power of these spells varies with a different user. Lelouch's Shatter spell is a lot weaker than Tsumibito's, and vice versa.

Lelouch turned his head back to face Zero, 'stepped' out of sight, and then reappeared in front of Zero, startling him once again.

"Tell me something," Lelouch said calmly. "What are you, really? Saying that you're my mask doesn't exactly explain your existence. So let me ask again: what are you?"

What would happen if Zero told him the truth? Would he kill Zero as quickly as possible, or will he not think any different? Quite frankly, Zero was still technically his own person. This time around, he wasn't really up for dying. Not until he killed Tsumibito once and for all.

So instead of providing an answer, Zero flew high into the air and fired Hadron blasts at Lelouch, who dodged them with ease as he summoned another Hurricane and chucked it upwards. Zero put up his shield as the winds produced tossed him around as he got caught in the centre. Lelouch raised his left hand and opened up his palm, and the Hurricane expanded to a titanic size, sweeping up heaps of trees down below as the Hurricane found ground to move on.

Lelouch moved out of the way to a safe distance as he saw a pink ball of light fly around like a fly in a closed space. Zero, meanwhile, was devising a plan to pull off as soon as he could get out of his current predicament. It wasn't going to be easy, but it required him to fly up to the Eye and fire his Hadron Cannons as a distraction, and then he would come up underneath Lelouch and engage in close-combat.

Zero flew higher and higher, getting bumped around like crazy, until he reached the Eye of the storm. From there, he charged at Lelouch while firing his Hadron Cannons after dismissing his shield. Lelouch raised his black Angel Shield to block the attack, creating hundreds of sparks as his shield balanced out to fully block Zero's attack. When the 'shield' ceased, he didn't see Zero come up from below and grab his shirt with a grip too tight for Lelouch to peel off.

Zero punched Lelouch in the face hard with his free left hand and then proceeded to fly over to the volcano in the centre of the island, intending to throw him into it. He accelerated faster as Lelouch struggled to get Zero off of him. He got his 'knife' out in his right hand and thrust it down into Zero's armour, where the collarbone would be. He cut through the armour to get to Zero's skin.

"!" Zero quickly let go to avoid critical damage.

Lelouch followed up by using Black Judgement. When he reappeared, Zero's armour cracked even further along the chest line, now reaching down to where his belly button would be. Lelouch's cheek began to swell slightly to a murky yellow colour. Lelouch 'stepped' behind Zero and kicked him in the back, sending him further towards the volcano. Lelouch proceeded to keep up the pressure by going up to Zero with two 'knives' out and swinging and stabbing relentlessly.

Of course, Zero only had a bit of difficulty blocking and diverting all of the attacks. When he grabbed Lelouch's wrist, he fired a Hadron blast into Lelouch's face and threw Lelouch into the wall of the volcano, winding him slightly. Zero flew straight into Lelouch's stomach, pushing him through the wall and into a hollowed-out tunnel.

It was dark, making it very hard to see. The only light they had was the hole in the wall that Zero made, and even that was disappearing because of the clouds. Lelouch was on his back as Zero stood up and aimed his Hadron Cannons at Lelouch's location. He fired-

Only for Lelouch to 'step' out of the way and stab Zero in his side with his 'knife'. Zero stopped his attack, and tried to elbow Lelouch's head. But Lelouch moved out of the way while pulling out his hand from Zero.

Zero held his hand over the open wound as he turned around and dodged Lelouch's charged 'sphere'. With Zero's free right hand, he fired Hadron blasts as he retreated. Lelouch 'stepped' past them and tried Black Judgement-

But Zero raised his Absolute Defence Shield just in time to block the dozens of slashes. Zero turned around again to face Lelouch as he fired his Hadron Cannons. Lelouch dodged one of them, but got hit in the back by the other, ripping apart the fleur de lis on the back of his shirt and burning his skin, where the black Fairy Tail mark resides on his body. He rolled forward to recover his balance and turned back around, fighting stance at the ready.

Zero sprinted (although it was a lot harder now) and unleashed a combo of punches and elbows on Lelouch. Lelouch futilely blocked a quarter of the attacks, but was overwhelmed in the blink of an eye. Zero finished off his combo with a hard punch to the stomach, forcing Lelouch to cough up blood, and then grabbed his head and drove it down into the ground.

Lelouch 'stepped' out from underneath and tried to break Zero's neck from behind. But Zero grabbed Lelouch's fingers before a proper hold was put on. He ducked down, pulled Lelouch's arm forward, and then elbowed him in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him as he slumped forward. Zero pulled Lelouch's arm over his shoulder and threw him over and onto the ground. Zero tried to stomp Lelouch's nose into his head with his foot, but Lelouch barrel-rolled to one side and 'stepped' again to appear a distance away from his opponent.

_Note to self,_ Lelouch thought while settling down the adrenaline that was welled up inside. _Actually stick to the plan you established earlier._ He re-evaluated his next course of action. _Okay, so what I need to do is reserve my magic a bit more. I only have just over fifty percent now. I've been using it a bit too excessively against Zero._

An idea popped into his head. It was a risky one at that. _Should I use it? I mean, it might just work; I have just the right amount of magic to use it to full effect. But the problem is that I need to store all of my magic power into one final attack and to hold Zero in place. The conditions need to be just right …like back then…_ He remembered his final encounter with Tsumibito on the day he founded the Great Wizard Generals, and how he ended the battle.

Lelouch readied his battle stance once more. _Alright then; let's see if this will work!_ And with that, Lelouch charged at Zero.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the edge of the Isle of Sin…

Jellal and Shokan have been fighting extensively since Jellal and Andreas arrived on the island. Neither has let up their assault on the other as most of the beach has now been torn up into an unrecognisable mass of land. Trees were floating in the ocean, sand was completely non-existent, and the two wizards were standing off against each other, clearly exhausted.

Jellal's clothing was badly tattered. It was more obvious with his upper body, where there was a huge tear that revealed his chest. One of his ribs was broken, and there were several bruises all over his body. His forehead was bleeding over his left eye. His magic power was extremely low, and pretty soon he won't have enough strength to fight.

Shokan wasn't spared any punishment either. He couldn't properly move his left leg (Jellal's magic pierced through the thigh at one point). There was a severe burn mark on his left shoulder and on his stomach. His right eye was bruised; something Shokan didn't think was possible with one-hundred percent density. But now his magic was reduced to ten percent, and his eyes were back to the blue colour he originally had.

Jellal said through small exaggerated breaths, "Damn…it… This is taking…longer than…I thought…"

Shokan advanced on Jellal (much slower than usual) and reeled his right fist back behind him. As he struck Jellal in the stomach, Jellal stopped himself from gagging and countered with an elbow to Shokan's head. But it did nothing, and Shokan grabbed Jellal by the arm and threw him closer to the ocean. Jellal fell and stumbled pathetically as he tried to gain his balance.

Shokan walked over slowly to not irritate his leg, and then jumped high into the air and came back down on Jellal, who dodged just in time. As Jellal got back onto his feet, he swiped his left hand behind him and collapsed the ground underneath Shokan, who fell into the hole. Jellal used Meteor to fly into the air and come back down on Shokan.

The attack created a huge shockwave that ruptured the ground underneath the General and Tsumibito's ally. When the ground stopped shaking, Jellal got up and began pounding Shokan's face while using Meteor. Each blow grew slightly weaker and slower than the first one, and eventually Shokan grabbed one of Jellal's wrists and punched him back, blowing Jellal out of the hole and on his back.

Shokan appeared out of the hole, now bleeding from his forehead as well, and tried to stack on more density. But he found that he was reaching the limit of his magic energy, and could no longer increase the hardness of his body; what he had now was all he had left. Shokan dismissed it as he leapt on top of Jellal. He began throwing punches, and Jellal began blocking and diverting them the best he could manage.

Jellal was almost out of magic, and found that he could hardly muster enough to use Meteor. All he could do was keep blocking Shokan's punches until he could figure out how to get the man off of him. He saw one opportunity, and then he head-butted Shokan in the middle of his forehead.

Surprisingly, it was enough to get Shokan off of him and to make him fall flat on his backside. Jellal mustered as much magic as possible, got up onto his feet, and then used Meteor to fly up in the air.

"Grand Chariot!" The attack hit Shokan dead on the mark, and dust was kicked up high into the air. Shokan emerged from the dust and decked Jellal in the face. The two of them fell back down to the ground. Barely getting up onto their feet, Jellal and Shokan started punching each other down to the ground. Each punch was sluggish, and getting up from the ground was tiring. Eventually, Shokan threw in a kick with his injured leg and hit Jellal's broken rib. Crying out in agony, Jellal tried desperately to stay standing. With one last swing, Jellal knocked Shokan right in the chin. Succumbing to the final blows, Jellal and Shokan fell down on the ground.

It was a draw.

Jellal was knocked out, and his body was face down. Shokan was on his side, only barely conscious. The waves crashed onto the shore as the two men remained silent.

Shokan tried to get up, but only managed to fall flat on his back. He felt his mind beginning to slip into unconsciousness. He tried forcing himself to stay awake, but it was becoming more and more difficult.

And with that, Shokan, like Jellal, was now unconscious.

Andreas sensed from a distance that the battle was over, so he burst through the wall in one of the floors of the castle and headed over to the aftermath of Jellal and Shokan's fight. When he arrived, he walked over to Jellal and picked him up bridal style. He took one look at Shokan and left for the front entrance of the castle.

He would get him after he dropped off Jellal.

* * *

Andreas made it to the entrance and placed Jellal down on his back. He got up and made his way back to Shokan. He would have to break the news to him.

Thunder cracked, and Shokan woke up. He turned his head to the left and saw Andreas sitting with his legs crossed and next to Jellal. Surprised, he slowly got up on his elbows.

"You should stay where you are," Andreas requested. "Your wounds are too serious for drastic movement."

Shokan ignored Andreas and looked at his body to see how much damage was dealt to him. Concluding that he was indeed severely injured, he looked at Andreas with a questioning look. "Why did you retrieve me as well?" He recognised that he wasn't where he fell unconscious.

Andreas answered, "We're no longer enemies."

"What?"

"There's something I want to ask of you." Andreas closed his eyes to think of what to say. When he opened them, he said, "Leave the Baram Alliance and Tsumibito."

Shokan scoffed. "You can't be serious."

Andreas didn't reply.

Somewhat curious, Shokan asked, "Why?"

"It's because the Alliance is finished. Tsumibito will be apprehended and killed when Lelouch orders his execution. Zeref is no longer anyone's ally, and now…" Andreas paused. "You'll be left all alone."

"!" Something inside Shokan snapped because of the last thing Andreas said, and for the first time ever, he got _furious_. "You're lying!" he screeched. "You're just lying to me so that you can try to get me to join you! Is that it!? Do you find satisfaction in ruining someone's life so that you can gain a new friend!? Don't give me that _shit_!" Shokan forced himself up onto his feet too quickly, and the blood rushed out of his head and he fell back down-

But Andreas caught him and set him down quietly. Shokan pushed him away in frustration and averted his eyesight. Shokan didn't say more.

Andreas countered Shokan's accusation. "I never asked you to be friends with me or anyone else. All I'm trying to say is that the life you have with the Alliance is now over. You need to move on, Shokan. I hate to see young men like you waste your life living in the past."

Shokan looked back at Andreas with a scowl. "What's wrong with living in the past!?" he asked stubbornly. "The past I have is a lot better than what it used to be! What gives you the right to say that I can't be happy with it!?"

"You don't know what I and everyone else I know have been through," Andreas said calmly. "Our pasts had good moments, and they had many bad moments. But should you try so desperately to hold onto the old moments of happiness and sacrifice the opportunity to make new memories?"

Shokan tried to counter, but his mouth was left hanging. Despite being worked up, Shokan could sense that Andreas had a point. Even Shokan knew that holding onto something for so long would only cause problems in the future. He realised at that moment that he still clanged to the memory of his older 'brother', Jordan.

Jordan was dead. Why was Shokan still trying to fill the void of having a bigger brother by being with Tsumibito? What was it all for in the end? What good has it done for him, or even for Tsumibito? He didn't know the answer to that last part, but he knew deep down what good living in the past did to him.

It made him a fool; just a big stupid fool.

Shokan was overwhelmed by emotion for the first time since Jordan died, and he began to cry. He held his left hand over his eyes, trying to stop the tears and the sobbing. For Shokan, this was fairly new to him. Was this what it felt like to cry from the bottom of the heart? Was this what it felt like to realise the foolishness that went on for four years?

Shokan thought of these questions, but was too upset to try and answer them.

* * *

Lelouch and Zero were along the edge of the active volcano. Both of them were starting to feel exhausted as they continued to throw magic at each other. Eventually, Zero dropped his guard, And Lelouch successfully used Restrict on him, disabling his ability to move at all.

The edge they were standing on was fairly thin; only enough for one person to walk on it. The volcano's bright orange glow coloured the scene like a sunset as Lelouch raised his right hand. He only said one phrase.

"Final Black Angel Art: Dark Raven Blade."

A black sword that replicated the one used for Zero Requiem slowly began to form in Lelouch's hand. The glow from the volcano gave the blade a menacing shine. Lelouch exerted all of his magic into the sword.

"!" Zero recognised that sword anywhere. Not only did Lelouch get stabbed with it for his greatest gambit, but Zero was defeated by Lelouch with that exact weapon. The magic that radiated from the blade scared Zero immensely. _How does Lelouch have so much magic power!? This is not possible! With that kind of power, I'll-_

"Zero," Lelouch said calmly. "Know this before I run this sword through you: this attack…will result in me temporarily losing all of my magic power. I will not be able to recover any of it until the next season comes around. That's about three months."

_No! That can't be!_ Zero panicked. _Come on! Break free!_

Lelouch pulled back his sword into the position Suzaku used all those years ago. "Now that I only have just above fifty percent of my magic power remaining, I only have one attack that can defeat you now."

"D-Damn it…!"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes as he sprinted towards Zero. "It's over!"

The sword ran though Zero's solar plexus, piercing his armour.

The area around Lelouch and Zero exploded in a giant dome of black magic that covered most of the island. The force could be felt from five kilometres away, as the ground and the ocean shook and cowered from the great force of Lelouch's final attack. The force was enough to set off the volcano and cause it to erupt. Lelouch, in the centre of the dome with his sword still stuck inside Zero, moved down the volcano at blinding speed. The dome dissipated as the two wizards moved off the island.

Andreas and Shokan saw the spectacular show as the lava flowed down from the top of the volcano and into the forest below. By this time, Lelouch and Zero were off the Isle of the Dragons and now on the Isle of Sin, away from Andreas and Shokan. Lelouch and Zero reappeared in the centre of the forest behind the castle.

The sword in Zero's solar plexus disintegrated into golden dust, and Lelouch caught Zero as he slumped forward. Lelouch and Zero fell to their knees as Lelouch felt his magic disappear completely, never to recover it for three months.

Zero whispered, "So then… You really did it… You won…"

"Yes…" Lelouch replied.

Blood began to pour out of Zero as he continued speaking. "There is something…you should know…before I pass…"

"…"

"When I die, something will happen to you," Zero explained. "You will regain your memories as Zero…"

"!" If there was one thing Lelouch wanted, it was to remember _something_ from his past. Now that Zero has told him it's possible, he wondered what his past would be like.

Zero was running out of time. "Lelouch… Take my mask…"

Lelouch looked at it and took it off. He examined it closely.

"That mask will be the last piece of my existence in this world… Put it on, and you will remember some…"

His last word faded, and Zero's lifeless body burst into a brilliant shower of light. As he said, the last piece of Zero was now in Lelouch's hand. "Zero…" Thinking about the last thing the man said, he put on the mask.

As he did, memories, Geass, and magic flowed through his body with no difficulty.

* * *

He remembered it so clearly now.

His debut, the Narita Mountains, Kamine Island, the Special Zone Massacre, the failed Black Rebellion, his 'resurrection', the Chinese Federation, and lastly, the Second Battle of Tokyo and the Black Knights' betrayal. Lelouch Lamperouge remembered all of these events so vividly; almost like they were yesterday. But something was amiss.

There were still people he didn't recognise; thoughts he didn't understand.

He didn't know who those students in Ashford Academy were, or even the girl in the wheelchair. Why did he think so affectionately of her? Were they related? Why did he feel so bad about shooting Euphemia? What did she mean to him that made him feel so heartbroken? Who was Rolo? Who was C.C. exactly? Who was Kallen? What was Lelouch's relationship with these people?

These memories were all related to Zero; not Lelouch Lamperouge or Lelouch vi Britannia.

Not only did he recover some of his memories, but he also took back his Geass that Zero had, and even obtained Zero's Knightmare Magic. Now Lelouch can use something else as he waits for his Black Angel Magic to return to him. As he stayed on his knees, letting everything fix itself, Lelouch wondered one thing.

Why doesn't he have any memories of what Zero did after all of these events?

As Lelouch wondered about the mystery at hand, a man emerged from the trees. He took his cigar out of his mouth and tapped his finger on it. His smoke-hair flowed over his right eye as he stared at the spectacle in front of him. He pulled on his black jacket and began to walk forward, making noise as his black sneakers pressed against fallen twigs and leaves.

It was Logan MacGyver, and he failed to carry out Tsumibito's assassination request.

* * *

Andreas got up as soon as he felt an unfamiliar presence approach him and Jellal. Shokan left the island a little while ago. The person who appeared was none other than William Blackburn; with his bright yellow jacket begin his key feature.

"Who are you?" Andreas stepped forward with his left foot forward.

William chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's kinda complicated. You see, my friend Logan and I were ordered to assassinate someone."

* * *

"_Your target will be…Zero," said Tsumibito._

"_Zero?" William Blackburn was confused as to how a person was named after a number._

_Tsumibito explained. "Zero and I have unfinished business to settle. We've been enemies for a while now, and I hope to get rid of him if he is spotted on this island or in Fiore."_

_Logan didn't say anything, but instead listened in._

_William asked, "How do you expect us to get to Fiore so fast if he's spotted there?"_

"_Don't worry," Tsumibito reassured. "Just stay at the Isle of the Dragons for now. If you sense him, follow him until you see the opportunity to strike. Logan," he addressed._

_Logan met Tsumibito's gaze._

"_I want you to deal the finishing blow to him. Is that understood?"_

_Logan took the cigar out of his mouth and blew. "Yeah, sure."_

"_Hey, what am I supposed to do?" William whined._

"_Your task is to take care of anyone else who might cause problems. Whether or not they're Zero's allies doesn't matter. Take care of them if you can."_

_William let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, whatever you say."_

"_Good. You're dismissed."_

_Logan and William walked over to the door, opened it, and then proceeded to leave the castle._

* * *

"And that's basically it," explained William with a big cheesy smile on his face.

"So basically what you're saying is that you're here to kill me?"

"Yup!"

Andreas punched William square in the face, sending him airborne. William fell flat on his face in a comedic fashion. "While your optimism is certainly out there, you'd be naïve to think I won't fight back."

William slowly got up onto all fours, and his broken glasses fell to the ground. He laughed quietly to himself. "You really shouldn't have done that." His tone was serious. He got up onto his feet and turned to face Andreas with his eyes closed. He was half-smiling, half-scowling. "You know, you're pretty lucky that the Sun isn't out right now." He opened his eyes completely as a bright light emerged from them, blinding Andreas temporarily. "Because if it was, I would be able to fight at full-power." His grin grew wider. "Let's try to have a good time while we can…shall we?"

* * *

The assassination was what Logan was about to carry out, but he saw that someone else beat him to it. He called out to Lelouch. "Hey. What's your name? Where's Zero?"

Lelouch flinched behind the mask and looked behind him. _Where did he come from? Who is this person?_ He picked up that Logan didn't know what happened to Zero, so he used this to his advantage. He stood up and declared, "I am Zero."

Of course, seeing as how Logan despised lying, he got the feeling that was what he heard. Besides, he sensed two people just a moment ago. "Lying scumbag."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you're not Zero. Fess up, or else I'll kill you where you stand you lying bastard."

_So he figured it out, huh?_ Instinctively, Lelouch made the mask turn into a black fog, causing it to disappear. His face was calm but serious.

The sight of Lelouch confused Logan, and it also made him angry. _There's two of that arsehole? That annoying bastard… I'm sick of people not telling the truth._ "What the hell are you doing, Tsumibito?"

"Hmm?" Lelouch didn't get it at first, but then figured out what was going on. "I see now… Tsumibito hasn't told you about me."

"What about you?"

"My name is Lelouch Lamperouge: Great Wizard Commander of the Great Wizard Generals and currently leading the Earth Land Alliance in one final assault against the Baram Alliance. I'm also an exiled member of Fairy Tail. Tsumibito happens to be a part of me."

Logan scowled. "What a load of crap that is. I don't buy it for a second."

"My presence may confuse you, but what I'm telling you is the truth. After I'm done here, I'm going to lock up Tsumibito and eventually execute him."

Suddenly, the smoke that was hovering in the air (thanks to Logan's smoking) solidified in a certain spot, piercing Lelouch through his right shoulder.

"!" Lelouch's shocked face looked down at the new wound, and saw that the smoke broke down back into a gas. _What the…?_ He looked around and saw the smoke surrounding him. Looking up, he saw the smoke from the volcano finally reached the Isle of Sin. He looked back at Logan (he still doesn't know his name) and saw that the man disappeared. _Where did he go?_

Logan reappeared behind him and tried to solidify the smoke around Lelouch's heart. But something happened instantly before that. It put Logan off-guard, to say the least.

Lelouch's body was covered up by black armour and a cape; the very same thing Zero wore. Logan looked up to see the back of Zero's mask on Lelouch's head. Logan was confused, and didn't react when Lelouch turned his head to face Logan and said with his modulated voice, "Do you believe me now when I say I'm Zero?" He elbowed Logan in the stomach, sending him flying into trees.

Basically, Lelouch called upon Zero's magic by summoning the mask. And with the mask came Zero's entire outfit. The armour was a quick attempt to block Logan's attack, so Lelouch dismissed it, revealing the familiar suit the masked man would always wear, along with his purple gloves. He turned his body around to face where Logan flew into trees.

"I must admit," Zero/Lelouch said to himself. "It's really handy having secondary magic." Amused, he called upon the Shinkiro gauntlet on his left hand and aimed it in Logan's general direction. _If I remember clearly how to use the Gawain and the Shinkiro, then I should have no trouble using this._ He fired a Hadron blast as Logan came out of hiding; the battle now beginning.

* * *

End of Chapter 23

**(A/N: Well, what do you think? Did you all like it? And by the way, Lelouch's final attack is **_**not**_** a Deus Ex Machina, although it was inspired by the Final Getsuga Tensho from **_**Bleach**_**. But who cares about such trivial things? Besides, I planned for Final Black Angel Art to be like that anyway.**

**Soon enough, Natsu won't be talking in the author's notes anymore. So after this arc, I'm doing the notes by myself. I was considering Fluttershy being a special guest, but I can't be bothered. Plus it would feel weird to me.**

**Well then, Zero's dead. And yes, I just made Lelouch stronger than you imagined. You know what? I'm not calling him a Marty Stu just yet. Why? After this arc, he won't be the only protagonist, and he most certainly will not be the strongest wizard out there. When this arc is finished, we're going to complete the seven year time-skip.**

**By the way, at the rate my story is going, the Grand Magic Games might not even happen. But if I find a way to get it in there, then I will do it. With the current path the manga is taking, I might even have to change the situation where I can get some of the most important parts from this arc onto this story. Well, I do have a special couple of arcs I'm cooking up… No, I'm not going to tell you them. Yet.**

**Please review, vote in the poll, and have a good day. And if you still remember what I said in the first chapter of the author's notes, then I apologize for deceiving you all. But still, this is a good way to make you all happy.)**


	24. A World of Truth and Smiles

Chapter 24: A World of Truth and Smiles

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: I'm back again! There's nothing much to say here, so just enjoy the chapter!)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass, Fairy Tail**_**, or the original designs for my expies.**

* * *

Andreas was not having a good time.

William was making this fight much more difficult than it should've been. The blinding light from William's eyes made it impossible for Andreas to see anything as he kept staring at him. So all he could do was block and strike as best as he could.

Andreas heard William say one phrase. "Sunlight Dragon Roar!" He was hit by a large torrent of light that blasted him into the castle wall near the door. He stayed there for a short moment while William began talking. "You don't seem to be getting the hang of this, are you?" he mocked slightly. "Oh, and in case you haven't figured it out, I'm a Dragon Slayer."

Andreas chuckled loud enough for William to hear.

"What's so funny?" William grinned.

"You aren't a _real_ Dragon Slayer," Andreas stated. "From what I can tell, Dragon Slayers don't have unique abilities like your eyes' shining light, for example. In fact, no 1st Generation Dragon Slayer has that kind of ability apart from their usual move-sets."

William chuckled as well. "Very perceptive of you; you've done your homework. You're right." His fists became engulfed in focused light as he said, "I'm a 2nd Generation Dragon Slayer, actually."

Andreas smirked. "Well then…" He pulled himself out of the wall and closed his eyes. "…this will be interesting for once. I've always wondered what it was like to fight a Dragon Slayer." He smashed his fists together and summoned four extra arms. "Let's go!" he growled as he charged where he sensed William would be.

* * *

Logan called his attack. "Smoke Dragon Scythe." A scythe made entirely of smoke appeared in Logan's hands as he swung at Lelouch, who was clad in the armour of Zero. 'Zero' blocked the attack with his Absolute Defence Shield. He transformed his Shinkiro's gauntlets into the Gawain's Hadron Cannons. As Logan pulled back and Lelouch let down his shield, he fired the Hadron Cannons directly at Logan.

The Smoke Dragon Slayer vanished into the form of smoke, concealing his true location as he made smoke rush into 'Zero' by command. 'Zero' covered his mask with his hands as he tried to find where Logan was. But he figured out long ago that Logan would end up behind him, so he raised his shield just as Logan reappeared and tried to fatally wound Lelouch.

Logan vanished again to try and look for an opening. 'Zero' meanwhile was trying to find a way to get out of Logan's trap of smoke. He could try flying up, but he expected Logan would prevent that from happening. Besides, above them was smoke from the volcano. So that was ruled out.

The masked man did come up with one idea. He dismissed his armour and stood there casually. Logan didn't understand why Lelouch did that, but he took this opportunity to strike. Making the mistake to reveal himself by striking him, 'Zero' was able to effortlessly catch Logan's hand as it came straight for his chest. Using this moment to gain the advantage, 'Zero' called upon his Float System and flew out of the field of smoke and over to Andreas' and William's location.

'Zero' grabbed Logan properly by the jacket and flew downwards into the sand below, with Logan taking the full impact. Andreas and William stopped fighting momentarily to look at the crater not too far away from where they were standing. They saw 'Zero' (not knowing it was Lelouch yet) jump out from the crater and land next to Andreas, who flinched back in defence.

"Relax," said Lelouch as he made his Knightmare Magic fade away with the mask, now wearing the original clothing he donned before he arrived on the Isle of Sin. He looked at Andreas with his Geass-infused eyes. "It's me."

Andreas was in disbelief for a moment. _His eyes… Both of them now have Geass_, he thought to himself before saying, "How did you get that magic?"

"I'll explain later." Lelouch turned his attention to the two Dragon Slayers. "Right now we need to work together and stop these two." He pulled his left hand over his face, calling back Zero's mask with everything else.

William laughed genuinely. "Well isn't this interesting. Are you the guy? Are you Zero?"

_So then, it looks like Tsumibito must've ordered these two to kill Zero for him,_ Lelouch thought as he said, "Yes… I am Zero!" He flicked out his hands to his declaration. "I fight for the weak that are oppressed by the strong! I use the lesser evil to destroy the greater evil!"

Logan scoffed as he puffed smoke. "Liar."

William looked at his partner with a goofy grin on his face. "Oh come on Logan, I was enjoying his little introduction."

Andreas didn't question what Lelouch was doing, but it wasn't important at the moment. He cracked his knuckles on all six hands as he said to 'Zero', "I got the blonde one on the left."

"I understand," Lelouch said in response as he called back his armour and Hadron Cannons, along with the Float System. "I didn't intend on giving you Cancer Boy over there."

Andreas smirked as he charged William. 'Zero' followed suit as the two Dragon Slayers prepared to fight. The four of them engaged in a close-quarter fight; each of them blocking and striking and kicking each other in rapid succession. Andreas grabbed William by the jacket and threw him up into the air at the same time Lelouch elbowed Logan into the ocean, and then both fired Mantra blasts (which look like fists) and Hadron Cannons respectively at their opponents.

Logan leapt out of the water. "Smoke Dragon Roar." A large blast of smoke came from Logan's mouth. 'Zero' dodged it while changing the Hadron Cannons for the gauntlets and then firing Hadron blasts at the Smoke Dragon Slayer. But he dodged to the left and charged. Andreas was blinded by William shining his eyes into Andreas' sight again, forcing him to stop attacking the Sunlight Dragon Slayer in the air. William called, "Sunlight Dragon Strike!" and punched Andreas square in the face with light engulfing his fist and pushing him into the ground.

'Zero' glanced at Andreas to see if he was okay, but Logan didn't let him wait. The Smoke Dragon Slayer charged forward and called, "Smoke Dragon Solid Fist." and nailed 'Zero' in the stomach hard with a fist full of smoke, despite wearing armour. 'Zero' was flung over to the castle and recovered mid-air.

William picked Andreas up by his gi and called, "Sunlight Dragon…"

"!"

"RO-"

'Zero' shot William in the head with a Hadron blast, forcing him to let go of the 1st Wizard General and sending him flying. 'Zero' blocked Logan's attack with his shield and fired a point-blank Hadron Cannon, sending him flying as well. Andreas instinctively followed up by firing Mantra blasts in William's location, roaring at the top of his lungs while doing so.

The Mantra blasts kicked up sand into frenzy as William was temporarily caught in it. Logan charged at Andreas, but was tackled by 'Zero' into the ground and was blasted yet again by a point-blank Hadron Cannon. The force of Andreas' and 'Zero's' attacks shook the very ground they were on. Logan vanished after the assault from 'Zero' and reappeared behind him.

But Andreas stopped his onslaught on William and performed a lariat on Logan, smacking him hard in the neck and forcing him to go flying again. 'Zero' flew over to Logan (who was still in the air), grabbed him by the jacket, and then chucked him back to Andreas, who reared his right fists back and knocked Logan right in the face and down into the ground.

William finally appeared again and called, "Sunlight Dragon Roar!" The blast hit Andreas directly in his side. 'Zero' flew back over to deal with Logan, but he vanished into the smoke he produced during the fight.

William charged at 'Zero' with two glowing fists and eyes as he repeatedly struck at him. 'Zero' was getting blinded every now and then by William's blinding ability. As a result, William was able to get in a few hits. By chance, 'Zero' found an opening and struck at William's throat; gagging him a little bit as he retreated backwards.

'Zero' fired his Hadron Cannons at William, who dodged in the nick of time. But Andreas recovered by then and threw William away from 'Zero', mounted on top of him, and then pummelled his face with his six fists. 'Zero' suddenly felt something was wrong.

And he was right.

Logan solidified smoke around Andreas' right side, piercing straight through and stopping him from attacking William. Logan reappeared from the smoke (with quite a few bruises on his face), grabbed Andreas under the arms and threw him over to the side.

"!" 'Zero' ran over to his ally. "Andreas!"

"Shut up," said Logan as he solidified smoke around 'Zero's' right side, breaking through the armour completely.

"!" Blood began to pour out of his body as 'Zero' tried to hold his hands over the wound. _Damn it! He got me!_ 'Zero' fell onto his right knee.

Logan picked up William (who also had a lot of bruises on his face) from the ground and stood him up straight. William grinned in a goofy fashion as he rubbed the back of his head. "Man, that hurt a lot!" the Sunlight Dragon Slayer commented.

Logan's cigar burnt down to its last piece. He spat it out of his mouth (hitting William in the forehead, causing him to whine a little), pulled out another cigar and a lighter, and then lit it. His hair grew longer from the extra smoke Logan was storing up to use for his magic. It now reached down to the middle of his back.

The Smoke Dragon Slayer looked at 'Zero' with a calm yet deadly look on his face. "Didn't think we were going to be easy, did you?"

William said with a smile, "He's right, Zero! Together, the two of us are one tough cookie!" He looked down in the direction his jacket happened to be, and then went into his daze by accident.

It was, again, a habit of his.

Logan held his cigar under William's nose, causing him to yelp the second time that day. He placed it back in his mouth and said, "You really should take off that jacket."

"But I look so good wearing it!" William whined.

Zero didn't pay attention to them, as he was trying to figure out how to take these two men out and not faint from blood-loss. _I didn't expect these two to be so strong. My magic is fine, but my body is starting to feel the strain from my last fight. I can't take both of them on at the same time for very long. I have to think of something! Come on…! What can I do?_

"Grand Chariot!" Beams of Heavenly Body Magic directly hit William and Logan.

"!" 'Zero' turned around and saw Jellal sitting on his backside with his right hand outstretched. He ran over to Jellal and stopped him from falling unconscious again. "Jellal, are you okay?"

Jellal grunted and looked at 'Zero'. He put on a brave smile. "Hey Lelouch… Don't worry about me…"

"Don't be ridiculous. We need to get you and Andreas healed before the Dragon Slayers strike back."

"We can't, Lelouch… None of us know Healing Magic."

Logan and William got up again and looked at Jellal and 'Zero'. Logan stepped forward, but was blocked by William's outstretched hand. "Wait, Logan. Let me." William walked forward and said to Jellal and 'Zero' with a goofy smile, "You guys should just give up now. This isn't going to work out for you in the end. You might just die."

Andreas slowly got up using his elbows. 'Zero' ran over to him and pulled Andreas' arms over his shoulder and went straight back to Jellal's location. Andreas said to the masked man, "They're right. The three of us aren't going to cut it right now. If we die here then the whole operation was for nothing."

'Zero' replied, "I know that." _Damn it, if only we had Ryuko or Reiji here to help. But we have no way to contact them right now. I should've thought this through better. If I did, then we wouldn't be in trouble right now._

Logan puffed before saying, "William, we should just kill these bastards now. I'm getting sick and tired of beating them around."

William let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He ignited his hands in light once again. "Don't use something too weak, got it?" As he said that, his entire body glowed even brighter than his eyes.

"Fine," Logan replied. Smoke covered his arms and spun at high speeds as his hair grew down to his ankles.

'Zero' made his decision. He got up onto his feet and asked Andreas, "Give me your gi."

"What?" Andreas didn't get it.

"Just do it."

Andreas pulled off his gi and handed it to 'Zero'. Lelouch dismissed his magic, took off his shirt and tied the gi around the open wound he has as best as he could manage. Satisfied, he buttoned his shirt back on and placed his left hand over his face. "You two get inside the castle, now."

"Say what!?" the two Wizard Generals exclaimed simultaneously. What was Lelouch thinking?

Lelouch summoned his mask by pulling his hand down in front of his face. The rest of the outfit appeared along with it; no armour. "Both of you are severely injured. Andreas, you need to make sure you can carry Jellal inside. After that, you need to grab Tsumibito and leave the island with Jellal immediately."

"You can't do that, Lelouch!" Andreas yelled. "You're going to get killed!"

Jellal intervened. "He's right, you know! Even you won't be able to take the both of them on by yourself! Are you insane!?"

"_Do you think I didn't know that already!?_" 'Zero' growled, silencing his two Generals. "If we fail to apprehend Tsumibito now, then all of this would be pointless! I am the Great Wizard Commander, and my orders must be followed even if the situation is dire! I _need_ you two to finish this mission!"

Jellal stuttered. "But…! But you'll die…!"

'Zero' didn't respond straight away. "It's likely, yes. But…" He turned his mask in the direction of Jellal and Andreas. "…I trust you and everyone else to move forward towards the future. If I don't make it, I want you all to make Fiore a better place for everyone without me." He summoned his Hadron Cannons and armour. "Now go! I will hold them off as best as I can!"

Andreas and Jellal hesitated before submitting. Solemnly, Jellal said one last thing in case Lelouch didn't make it. "Do your best, Commander." Andreas picked Jellal up by the arm and over his shoulder.

"Don't die," was what Andreas said before running back inside the castle to do as Lelouch asked.

Lelouch smiled sincerely behind his mask. "I'm grateful, my friends." With a fierce determination in his eyes, Lelouch glared at the two Dragon Slayers before him and charged his Hadron Cannons. "Let's go."

William smirked. "Gladly." He called, "Sunlight Dragon Rapid Fire!" Beams of light shot out of his glowing fists.

The beams of light from William hit 'Zero's' shield much harder than before; almost double the amount of power.

"Smoke Dragon…" Logan called as he raised his arms. "…Death Spike."

Logan's smoke shot forward at 'Zero' with blinding speed, piercing the shield in a few areas as it solidified into a giant spike.

'Zero' summoned his Float System and flew into the air as the attacks pressed further. When he disengaged the attacks, he dismissed his shield and fired his Hadron Cannons, barely missing the two Dragon Slayers as they dodged. 'Zero' charged headlong to engage in close-quarters, figuring that he should try to see if he could find an opportunity to strike in close range.

Logan engaged with 'Zero' as William retreated to attack with long range magic. Logan exchanged strikes with the masked man as William fired off Dragon Roars and Rapid Fire. 'Zero' had to block, raise his shield and strike back at the same time, and he knew that was not his strong suit.

Logan caught 'Zero's' arm and threw him over his shoulder and onto the ground. 'Zero' countered Logan's attempts to attack vital points with a few kicks as he got back up to his feet. He fired his Hadron Cannons point-blank, and Logan barely dodged. But the attack caught William off-guard as the blast got a direct hit on his chest. Unfortunately for him, he was directly in line with Logan and that was why he got hit.

With William disoriented, 'Zero' threw a flurry of strikes to Logan's weak spots, but found that his fists were going through Logan's smoke body. Figuring that it wasn't going to work any longer, 'Zero' jumped back and flew over Logan to get to William (who was still lying on the ground because of the devastating attack earlier). 'Zero' pinned him down with his foot and replaced the Cannons with the gauntlets. He took aim-

But before he could fire, he was shot in the left thigh with solid smoke, making him buckle onto one knee. He grunted in pain as he got off of William as a Dragon Roar shot up into the air. Logan called, "Smoke Dragon Scythe." Holding the scythe, Logan charged forward at 'Zero' and swung.

Seeing this coming, 'Zero' caught the solid weapon by Logan's hands, pulled it down, and then shoved his gauntlet into Logan's jacket and gripped the shirt as tight as possible.

"!" Logan lost his cool as 'Zero' fired a Hadron blast into Logan's side (where he grabbed the shirt). The blast tore apart the shirt and burned the skin greatly. 'Zero' grabbed Logan's shirt with his other hand and fired another Hadron blast; this time it tore through the left side of Logan's shirt, where the rib-cage was.

Logan retreated back as William checked the damage dealt to Logan. Logan dismissed his scythe. 'Zero' took this opportunity to change to his Cannons and fire. The two Dragon Slayers dodged to each side separately as they countered with their respective Roars.

'Zero' blocked the attacks with his shield. The attacks ceased, and 'Zero' fired Hadron blasts back at them. Logan dissipated into smoke to dodge, while William tried to get in close, dodging the blasts as they came along. When he got in close enough, he tried blinding 'Zero' with his eyes and then smashing him with his fists.

But 'Zero' learnt William's pattern. He grabbed William's wrists, twisted them so his palms were facing the outside, and then kicked William in the gut hard enough to make him seriously gag. Logan reappeared from behind and solidified the smoke on Lelouch's left side, piercing the armour yet again as a new wound appeared.

"!" 'Zero' blasted William in the face before turning around to backhand Logan (who didn't disappear fast enough and got hit as a result). 'Zero' created distance from the Dragon Slayers and breathed heavily. He was exhausted, and his leg was hurting badly. He wasn't going to be able to take much more at this rate. The last fight with Zero took away a lot of his energy. But how was he going to deal with them?

He collapsed down to one knee as the wound dealt to his leg earlier kicked in. _Damn it…! I'm not going to last much longer…!_

William's face was burnt; the left side was slightly bleeding. Logan had strong burns on his right side and the left side of his rib cage. William held his left hand in front of the burnt side and tried to smile normally. But the burn was too much, so he went with scowling. He hated the idea of not smiling, as it reminded him of when-

"Hey William, how is it?" Logan asked, showing some form of concern for his friend.

William bravely smiled a little bit as he turned to face his friend. "Pretty bad if you ask me. How about you?"

Logan let the wounds speak for themselves. "We shouldn't have to fight for much longer. This liar's almost down for the count."

"You wanna finish him off with our best attacks?"

"You can. I'm not wasting my time on him."

William chuckled. "Suit yourself." He closed his eyes as he said, "Supernova, _activate_." His body was set on fire as if he was a Sun. The flames licked around his body as he stood straight with his hands down his side.

'Zero' was in disbelief. _What did he do to himself?_ Realising he was in deep trouble, he summoned all the strength he could muster and flew off using his Float System.

William smirked. "You're not going to get away from this attack." He dashed so fast that he cut in front of 'Zero' in a split second.

"!" 'Zero' stopped in his tracks as William grabbed a hold of his armour before he could get away.

"I hope you're prepared for this, Zero. This attack will kill you if I'm this close. Say good-bye to this world!"

_NO!_ 'Zero' thrashed about, trying to get away as best as he could. But William was holding on too tight.

"Sunlight Dra-!"

William never finished calling his attack. He looked down to his stomach to see what stopped him. "!"

It was a black blade.

William turned his head around to the creepiest smile he had ever laid his eyes on. It belonged to Ryuko Seishikina: the 2nd General. She pulled her blade out of William slowly as he let go of 'Zero' and let his hands drop down to his sides. 'Zero' flew back down to the shore and dismissed his Knightmare Magic; again collapsing onto one knee.

Logan came out from hiding. "William!" he cried out, completely shocked to see his best friend stabbed by someone he didn't recognise.

Lelouch looked up with surprise. "Ryuko…! How did you get here?"

Ryuko drew her sword out of William completely. His body returned to normal as he began to fall down to the ground. Ryuko landed on her feet and turned her sword back into a dark red viscous liquid, allowing her to regain her sanity. Logan caught William before he fell.

Ryuko jumped over to Lelouch and said, "So it was you after all. I'm glad to see you're alright."

Lelouch was still confused about the whole ordeal. "Why are you here?"

"Believe it or not, Shokan came to us and told me and Reiji about the situation you were in. Looks like it was a good thing I got here. You almost died."

Lelouch nodded. "Yes… Thank you." He changed the subject. "How is it in Fiore?"

"For the most part, it was successful," Ryuko answered. "However, we lost sight of the dark guild Tartaros. It appears they had an escape plan thought out ahead of time."

"Which means they didn't trust Tsumibito," Lelouch concluded.

"Right."

Lelouch was reluctant to ask, but he gave Ryuko another question. "How's Fairy Tail?"

"Most of the guild members have actually left completely. They have less than at least thirty members. But this was before we came back."

Lelouch closed his eyes, deep in thought. "Alright then…" He opened them again. "Then it looks like I can go ahead with my plan with them."

"Do you mean-"

"DIE!" shouted Logan as he charged headlong at Ryuko, who dodged to the side like Lelouch did. "Smoke Dragon Scythe!" He held the scythe in his right hand and swung furiously at the duo. His attacks were slower, but each swing increased in speed more and more.

"Ryuko: go and get Andreas and Jellal," Lelouch ordered as he held his left hand in front of his face again. "They're in the castle. Meet them at the top; that's where Tsumibito is right now."

"But what about you!?"

"I'll be fine!" 'Zero' emerged once again. "It's only him and me now! Now go!"

Ryuko nodded and dashed for the castle. "Got it!"

Logan yelled, "I don't think so!" But his scythe was blocked by 'Zero's' shield as he swung. "Get out of my way, _scum_!"

"I will _not_ let you hurt my subordinates if I'm still able to fight!" 'Zero' pushed Logan's scythe up into the air as he fired his Hadron Cannons into the Smoke Dragon Slayer. Logan was knocked high into the air and disappeared into smoke.

Wasting no time, Logan reappeared in front of 'Zero' and whispered harshly, "_Smoke Form: release._" His arms turned completely into smoke and solidified into grey blades. He raised his smoke-swords above his head and swung down onto 'Zero's' right Hadron Cannon, smashing it into pieces and almost reaching 'Zero's' collarbone.

'Zero' summoned his armour again as he retreated and switched to his gauntlet. The right one was missing and 'Zero' concluded the obvious fact about his magic. Not minding this, he fired Hadron blasts repeatedly at Logan. Logan dodged to the sides at random intervals to put 'Zero' out of focus.

When he got close enough, Logan stabbed 'Zero' through his armour. The masked man retreated before Logan got him in the heart. There was now a big crack in the centre of 'Zero's' armour.

Logan didn't wait around. "Smoke Dragon Thousand Spikes!" Hundreds of little spikes formed where there was smoke and were launched at 'Zero', who raised his shield just in time. Logan used another attack. "Smoke Dragon Combustion!" When the spikes became stuck in 'Zero's' shield, they exploded instantly; blasting 'Zero' away as the shield disappeared.

"Smoke Dragon Roar!" The attack hit 'Zero' with incredible accuracy, breaking the armour into tiny little pieces as he fell onto the ground. His mask was even cracked along the left side of his jaw, revealing the mask underneath.

'Zero' was in deep trouble. _Damn__! This isn't good!_

Logan jumped high into the air and landed on 'Zero's' stomach, winding him. Logan mounted on top of the masked man with his knees sitting on the sides. He turned his left sword back to his normal hand as he raised his right sword over his head again. He swung down-

But was blasted in the head by 'Zero's' left gauntlet, causing him to roll to his left. 'Zero' put his hands on the ground next to his head, curled slightly into a ball before kicking his legs up so he jumped back onto his feet. He got back his Hadron Cannon on his left shoulder and fired it on Logan.

Logan took the full brunt of the attack and rolled along the ground uncontrollably before hitting the wall of the castle and hitting his head. He slowly tried to get back up onto his feet, but ended up falling on his backside. 'Zero' appeared before Logan and held him up onto his feet by the shirt.

Lelouch called off his Knightmare Magic as he was about to run out. He stared at Logan with his Geass-marked eyes. "Stop this. We're both going to get killed at this rate and your friend over there will bleed to death. Go over there and stop the bleeding." He threw Logan in William's general direction and let him hit the ground. Logan slowly got up onto his feet and ran over to William, took off his jacket, and then placed it over William's stab wound. He did it by instinct, not because Lelouch told him to.

Lelouch walked over to the two Dragon Slayers with caution as Logan glared at him. Logan said as he placed William's hand over his jacket and got up onto his feet again, "This isn't over!" He charged at Lelouch with his smoke scythe-

But it disappeared as soon as it reappeared. Logan was now out of magic power. Lelouch punched him in the gut, making him gag as his smoke-hair shortened at a fast rate. Eventually, the smoke disappeared, and Logan's short and spiky black hair emerged. His clear eyes gained a dark green colour in place.

Logan dropped to his knees in front of Lelouch; the cigar falling out of his mouth and onto the ground. The Great Wizard Commander held Logan by his head as he asked out of nowhere, "Why do you hate me so much?"

When Logan started to breathe normally, he answered, "Because you and everyone like you are nothing but lying bastards."

Lelouch commented, "That's a bold statement to make. What made you this way?"

Logan hesitated before asking with his own question. "Have you ever heard of the Bureau of Magical Development?"

Surprisingly, Lelouch hasn't. "No."

"It was an institution for magical research. Someone named Brain was in charge of it."

Lelouch let go of Logan's head as he asked, "Were you experimented on in your past?"

Logan's silence answered Lelouch's question.

Lelouch closed his eyes and sighed. "You don't have to tell me your life story if you want. I won't judge you either way." He turned around to face the castle. "I have things to get to anyway. So if that's all you'll say…"

"Wait," said Logan.

Lelouch turned his head back to face the Smoke Dragon Slayer.

Logan continued. "If I tell you my story, will you help my friend William recover his injury?"

Lelouch blinked. "An unnecessary arrangement if I do say so. But yes. I will order my Generals to help your friend heal if you are no longer hostile." He pulled out his eye patch from his left pocket and placed it over his left eye. "How does that sound?"

Logan cast his eyes down to the ground. "Well then, here it is…"

* * *

Logan was taken away from his parents when he was 7 years old. As he told his life story to Lelouch, he was 25; two years older than the Wizard Commander. Anyway, what happened was that Logan was lied to by those in the Bureau of Magical Development that his parents wanted him to be experimented on.

Of course, Logan was only a child. So it would've been impossible for him to know any better. Otherwise he would've run away much later than he did.

The Bureau was working on creating a Dragon Slayer from lacrima alone. They chose Logan for this experiment; and because of the pain and suffering he felt, he stayed in his room for hours every day; all alone and praying that the adults working there wouldn't come for him.

But they always did.

Things continued like this for several years. He wasn't told too many details about many other people like him, but he knew about there being another Dragon Slayer who would go through similar tests like Logan. The kid's name was William Blackburn. His situation was a bit different to Logan's.

William was wilfully given over to the Bureau so that William could protect himself from the dangers his family faced from unknown assailants. The last thing they said to William was: keep on smiling, and he'll overcome everything bad that may happen to him. So from then on, even though William was in so much pain, he put on a brave smile every time to show everyone he was alright.

To the adults, this was creepy. So they did less and less experiments on the 2nd Generation Dragon Slayer. William was glad to know what his parents said worked for the most part.

Seven years later, when both Dragon Slayers were 14, William and Logan met for the first time during a cool winter night. The two of them at this time were well-accustomed to Dragon Slayer Magic. Logan's physical appearance changed because of it, and so did William (he was exposed to the Sun a lot over the years; resulting in a light tan and blonde hair).

William on that night proposed to Logan that they should run away from the Bureau and learn to live in the free world. Of course, Logan didn't like the idea because he thought William was lying to him. He thought that about everyone, actually. He didn't for a second believe the adults who experimented on him when they said his parents died three years before.

But William said something that caught Logan's attention.

He said, "You and I are sort of the same, you know? We were both taken away from our families and then turned into Dragon Slayers, just like that. I hope…" He smiled. "…that you and I can be friends. I've been feeling lonely for a long time. I want to make a change. That's why I want to run away from here. What about you?"

Logan was quite hesitant at first, but after the two of them managed to escape the Bureau for good, Logan saw that William was a trustworthy person, and he became friends with him ever since.

But their story didn't end there.

Four years ago (as of X 789) Logan and William eventually made their way to the Isle of the Dragons; the one place where there was smoke from an active volcano and enough sunlight to keep William in the same healthy condition for a long time. Logan picked up smoking a year after the Bureau fiasco, and the idea of smoke from a volcano did intrigue him (he imagined the possibility of his power increasing because of the smoke).

That was when Logan and William decided to live there, and that was how Tsumibito met them when he made his base of operations the island next to them: the Isle of Sin.

* * *

Logan finished his story, and Lelouch stood there in silence as he took in the information he was told. Logan was now sitting with his legs crossed. He didn't say anything else for the time being.

Lelouch reached a conclusion in his mind, and responded, "That would explain why you didn't believe me when I said I am Zero. To you, I'm just like Tsumibito; nothing but a liar who uses his influence to bring people over to his side. Am I wrong?"

Logan replied, "I still don't believe you for a second. I felt two magical presences before I saw you. The fact that you lied to me pisses me off."

"What if I told you that I'm not from this world?"

Logan scoffed. "Now you're just mocking me."

"Really? Then do you know why my eyes don't look normal like everyone else's? Have you ever seen the mark in my eye? What does the word 'Geass' mean to you?"

"Shut up," Logan snapped. He couldn't answer any of the questions he was given, because he simply did not know.

"Your refusal to accept what people say is not a good thing. While it's recommended to have a sceptical mind, you shouldn't flat out deny what other people are saying if you don't trust them."

"So what? If you ask me, the world will be better if no-one lied."

Lelouch felt that he knew someone else who said that to him once, but he remained quiet about that. Instead, he countered, "Do you know the reason why people lie?"

"It's because everyone in this world struggles to live with each other. None of us are willing to get along and be truthful. William is different; he always shares his honest feelings with me, even though he may not show what he feels to everyone else."

Lelouch admittedly considered Logan's answer before giving his own. "People lie not because they struggle with each other; they lie because there is something that they seek."

Logan looked up to Lelouch and asked, "What exactly are they seeking?"

"That, I do not know," Lelouch admitted. "But it's up to the person themselves to find out. Everyone has different dreams and desires. They will all take different paths to reach their goal, whether their actions are good or bad. Even you have something you want; a certain future you wish to live out to the fullest. So I ask you: what future do you want?"

Logan thought about what Lelouch said for a moment, considering what he thought would be his true answer. "I want a world of truth and smiles. I want people to be honest and to be happy with their lives. William would want that too."

Lelouch paused. "I don't think that's what you truly want."

Logan was surprised. "What?"

"You know for a fact that not everyone can be honest around other people, and that we have many hardships in our daily lives. That is something many –if not all- people share in common. But a whole world, or a society for that matter, where everyone tells the truth and smile like nothing's wrong? That kind of thinking is stagnant, and that kind of world is something I would refuse to live in. If the world we live in was like that, then no-one will be unique and we would not have any other future than the one future that everyone happily would agree with.

"I ask you to consider what I think is what you truly want." Lelouch paused briefly before voicing his opinion. "You want a future where people would stop deceiving you and William for their own gain. You want people to treat you the way you want to be treated."

"!" Logan held his mouth open as he tried desperately to counter Lelouch's argument. But he couldn't. It wasn't that it couldn't be argued, it was that Logan felt deep inside that Lelouch was _right_. For all of Logan's childhood, he was lied to by those bastards at the Bureau who wanted him to think what they told him. He didn't want to be tricked; he wanted someone to be honest with him. That was why he was friends with William.

Logan never thought he would admit this, but Lelouch was doing nothing except voiding his opinion. He even considered Logan's own opinion for the sake of argument and discussion. Lelouch kept his word that he wouldn't judge Logan's life. In fact, all Lelouch did was provide a different viewpoint on matters concerning the Smoke Dragon Slayer.

The more Logan thought about Lelouch's statement, the more it made sense and held truth to him.

Logan held his head low as he stared at the sand. He began to sob softly as a teardrop escaped his eyes. He couldn't believe how blind he was; he couldn't believe he didn't see this before! He was so consumed in his hate for people who lied to him in his past that he deluded himself into thinking people were lying to him _all_ the time.

Lelouch kept silent as Logan sobbed quietly to himself. He turned back to face the castle and was about to meet up with his Generals. But he had one last thing to ask the Dragon Slayer. "What's your name?"

Logan stopped sobbing for a moment as he answered, "My name is Logan. Logan MacGyver."

"Logan… Make sure you stay with William until I come back with my Generals. Understood?"

Logan nodded even though Lelouch didn't see him do it. But he knew regardless that Logan agreed to stay.

And with that, Lelouch hobbled his way back to the castle to take Tsumibito back to Fiore and into prison, where Lelouch will interrogate him before executing him. The Battle of the Isles was over. There were many casualties, and there were even defections.

But this was expected. It was, after all, war. Things like this would always happen.

End of Chapter 24

**(A/N: This is now the longest fight I have ever written. Is it the best fight I have ever written? Perhaps, but I don't know. I only know that there will be more fights in the future.**

**This is the last chapter before we get back to Team Natsu and his friends, folks! That's right! This means that Natsu will do his last author's notes with me and will go back into his own world. Don't worry; what happened here won't affect how he'll act in the story.**

**But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the little call-back with Lelouch and Logan discussing why people lie. I also hope Logan was an interesting character to you. William was a bit harder to write about because he isn't my character; he's my brother's. That means I don't know for certain if I'm writing him as my brother envisioned. But regardless, my thanks go out to him.**

**Don't forget to review and tell me what you think, and stick around for my next update. Also go to my bio page and vote. Remember this: **_**the poll will close by the end of next Tuesday, so make sure you tell me which arc you want to see before the next chapter is up**_**. You have the choice to either see **_**The Key of the Starry Sky**_** filler arc, or you can see the romance arc; where characters will be shipped based on my opinion and the hints in canon. See you guys later!)**


	25. Fairy Tail

Chapter 25: Fairy Tail

**(A/N:**

**Natsu: Hey everybody! This will be the last time I will do the author's notes, so listen up! This is the final chapter for the **_**Hidden Revelation**_** arc. And after that's over, everything will get back to normal! I'm fired up because I'm so excited!**

**I have one last thing to say before I go: I hope all of you have enjoyed Ebi's story so far. I know I sure have. Also, take a look at the chapter number and see how it relates to the **_**Code Geass**_** seasons. If you guessed that this is a finale, then you're right!**

**Bye everyone! It was nice talking to you all!)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass, Fairy Tail**_**, or the original designs for my expies.**

* * *

Lelouch arrived on the nineteenth floor, where Tsumibito and the Great Wizard Generals were waiting for him. Since Lelouch's Black Angel Magic ran out a while ago, Tsumibito would've been able to move around. But since the Generals were surrounding him, it would've been suicidal. Not to mention he was exhausted.

Surprisingly, the rain stopped a while ago now.

Lelouch limped over slowly to his Generals. Only Ryuko was really standing; Andreas was bandaged up slightly and sitting, while Jellal was lying on the ground. Moving with a broken rib wasn't highly recommended.

Ryuko met Lelouch half-way and carried him a little to help him walk over to Tsumibito. "How did it go?" Ryuko asked, talking about the fight with the Dragon Slayers.

"They're no longer hostile," Lelouch answered. "However, we need to give them medical attention. I kept a promise with Logan."

Tsumibito sighed. "As I thought… It looks like you did beat them."

"Tsumibito," Lelouch said.

"Hmm?"

"Are you still going to come with us without resistance? Or are we going to have to kill you?"

Tsumibito answered, "That depends. Do you want to know my history as well, or do you just want your memories back?"

"So you know what happened with Zero," Lelouch concluded.

"How could I not?"

Lelouch didn't reply. He looked at Ryuko. "Can you bandage me as well? I'm bleeding, and I'm starting to feel a bit dizzy."

"Sure." Ryuko put Lelouch down and began to tear pieces of her clothing to use as bandages.

While being bandaged, Lelouch said, "Ryuko…"

"Yes?"

"Are we getting any medical teams over here?"

"They should be arriving in five minutes. I was able to get here faster than them. Once they arrive, we'll have you, Andreas, Jellal and the Dragon Slayers treated."

Ryuko finished the bandaging on Lelouch's left leg and side. Lelouch told her, "I need you to go back down to the Dragon Slayers and meet up with the medical teams. You'll need to explain the situation with them."

Ryuko got up from the ground. "Got it." She then dashed off the building.

Tsumibito asked, "And what about me?"

Lelouch explained. "You know what I'm doing with you."

Jellal intervened. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but what did Tsumibito mean by getting your memories back?"

_Ah, of course…_ Lelouch mentally slapped his forehead. _I'll need to explain this._ "Well it's like this…"

* * *

Lelouch explained to Jellal and Andreas that Tsumibito and Zero were not masks like he once believed they were, but were instead his memories in a physical form. Tsumibito himself confirmed this, explaining why Zero was no longer on the island. At first, Jellal and Andreas didn't get it, but it all clicked in eventually.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why Tsumibito is a complete monster," Jellal said.

"It probably works like this," Lelouch began. "Tsumibito and Zero are not just my memories; they also share all of the personality traits that I possess or _did_ possess; they are still me, after all. Zero, as far as my memories tell me, fought for justice. So of course, he would be what people would consider 'the good guy'. Tsumibito is the side of me that is, apparently, callous and tyrannical. Everyone has a darker side to their personality, and I think that because Zero and Tsumibito were two separate people, that Tsumibito was bound to be my dark side."

"That's exactly correct," Tsumibito confirmed. "Zero and I decided by ourselves how we would deal with being in the same world as you, Lelouch. We both went with lying to you by saying we were the physical forms of your masks that you wore in your past."

"But of course…" Lelouch pointed out. "…that is not possible."

"Exactly." Tsumibito smiled. "But you don't know how I exist if I'm just your memories." Of course, Tsumibito knew quite well how he came to be. But that was another conversation altogether.

Andreas commented, "You two seem to be getting along a little too well. It's starting to weird me out."

Tsumibito defended his case by saying, "I have no way to defeat Lelouch; everything I worked for was for nothing. Once I have outlived my usefulness, Lelouch and I will become one person again."

Jellal said, "You seem fairly casual about dying."

"Death doesn't scare you once you've been through it already."

"Wait a second, I _died_?" Lelouch did not know that. In fact, he was quite shocked.

Tsumibito grinned. "It will all make sense once you kill me."

Lelouch left the conversation where it ended, as Ryuko came back with a group of people; the medical team.

* * *

After treating everyone's wounds (even Tsumibito), the Isle of Sin and the Isle of the Dragons were permanently vacated. Hundreds of Baram Alliance members were killed during the Battle of the Isles, and all the teams could do was bury them and try to give them the best send-off they could manage. It was now time to work out the state of Fiore.

Great Wizard Commander Lelouch Lamperouge and the Great Wizard Generals Jellal Fernandes, Andreas Rokubuki, Ryuko Seishikina and Reiji Soyokaze, all negotiated and exchanged ideas with several government bodies that volunteered to be a part of the Earth Land Alliance. The main topic was Fiore's Magic Council branch and how Fiore's government was going to be run. After several days, they all reached an agreement: several representatives from governing bodies would be put in charge of Fiore, instead of being their own country's Shadow Party.

Lelouch, being the sceptic that he was, did not entirely trust everyone now in charge of the country, so he used his Geass on all of them over the course of the negotiations to swear to him that they would act responsibly in their new roles. If they didn't, he would basically ruin their lives. Having Geass in this case was kind of a good thing.

Another issue Lelouch and the Generals had to deal with was the fact that the Wizard Generals were criminals under the Magic Council's eyes. The Generals argued that they have done a great deed by helping with the destruction of the Baram Alliance and by commanding the Alliance's forces; they did not commit any crimes in the past four years. The Magic Council from the other countries countered by saying that they have not completed their sentences and that their crimes were horrendous.

They did reach a compromise: the Great Wizard Generals were to be disbanded and on probation for three years. If they behaved themselves, the Magic Council would agree to revoke their sentences. Lelouch was disappointed, but it was not a big deal anyway; he had plans for his friends already. But he wasn't certain if his plans would work.

On another note, the Baram Alliance was completely obliterated during the Earth Land Alliance's attack. To make sure something like this would never happen again, all of the Guild Masters in Fiore signed a Treaty swearing that they would not become a Dark Guild, and that they would do their best to eliminate any Dark Guild that may arise over the years. Fairy Tail's fifth Guild Master, Macao, also signed the Treaty.

Fairy Tail was Lelouch's top priority after the imprisonment of Tsumibito. Said man's case was a lot harder to deal with for Lelouch, as he had to explain to everyone in Fiore that he was going to be locked up until Lelouch would declare his execution. Of course, capital punishment hasn't been enforced in Fiore for decades, so Lelouch had to promise that Tsumibito would be the last case of capital punishment for good.

Logan and William managed to escape dealing with the government thanks to Lelouch's help. Now that they were free to do what they wanted, they decided to travel for a while. They never specified if they would return to Fiore.

Now that the Earth Land Alliance has been officially disbanded until further notice, Lelouch now set his sights on his next order of business: Fairy Tail.

* * *

The Fairy Tail guild was still the same as Lelouch remembered it. The only thing that changed was the membership numbers. The only members who are still a part of Fairy Tail are Macao (Guild Master), Wakaba, Alzack and Bisca, Jet and Droy, Max, Nab, Reedus, Vijeeter, Warren, Laki, Kinana, Romeo and Porlyusica. Everyone except Porlyusica had gone through very noticeable changes; mostly that they all aged or grew up.

Lelouch now stood ten metres away from the main entrance of the Fairy Tail building. His clothes were back to normal; black shirt with a hood (minus the fleur de lis that signified his previous rank), grey pants, black sneakers, two black wristbands and his gold necklace from Kishi. He also got a haircut to get his hair back to the same length he used to have. He even took his contact lenses back from Tsumibito before he was locked up in a high-security prison that prevented him from using magic.

His hands were in his pockets.

Lelouch was in deep thought as he stared at the building. What would they say to what he wanted to ask of them? Would they accept it, or would they completely reject him? Would he ever be able to go back to the guild he was technically still a member of? Would they excommunicate him?

At this point, Lelouch wasn't certain.

Lelouch and his former Generals were to meet up after he was done with what he wanted to do. If his plan didn't work out, then he and his friends were to live somewhere else and move on. But Lelouch hoped it didn't have to come to that.

Finished contemplating, Lelouch made his way to the front entrance of the Fairy Tail guild. With a deep breath, he raised his right hand and pushed the door open. His declared presence caught the attention of everyone in the guild.

With all of the members of Fairy Tail now staring at the former Great Wizard Commander, Lelouch declared the point of his arrival. "Listen to what I have to say before you judge my reason for being here. I come in peace. All I want to do is come back home." He would get to what else he wanted after a bit more discussion.

Macao, now older and losing a bit of his hair, got up from his chair at the table he was sitting at with his son and walked over to Lelouch, ignoring Wakaba's pleas for him to step back. He stopped in front of Lelouch, stared straight into his eyes and stated with a serious tone, "You want to become Guild Master."

Lelouch was mildly surprised that Macao figured it out, and admitted the truth. "Yes."

Everyone else in the guild was on edge, expecting Lelouch to make a move on Macao if the opportunity arose.

But none of them expected Macao to slap Lelouch across the left side of his face.

Lelouch didn't retaliate or snap back. Instead, he raised his head to a modest level and turned his right cheek in front of Macao. While Macao was shocked at Lelouch's acceptance, he didn't hesitate to slap that side as well. "Give me one good reason why you should even be accepted back into the guild."

"I don't blame you for hating me." Lelouch looked back at Macao, regret evident in his eyes. "In fact, you have every right to excommunicate me from the guild. I lied to you all, and I'm sorry."

"Why should any of us believe your apology?" Macao raised his voice slightly.

Lelouch blinked in silence and just looked at Macao before saying, "You shouldn't, but I'm now telling you the truth. Don't believe me if you want, but it still doesn't change the fact that-"

Macao threw an uppercut into Lelouch's stomach, winding him. Lelouch stayed hunched over as Macao kneed Lelouch in the head, forcing him down to the ground and on his side. Lelouch didn't get up as he accepted the abuse Macao was now giving him.

"Hey Macao, that's enough!" Wakaba called out. "The kid said he was sorry, right? Why are you doing this to him when he did so much for everyone in Fiore?"

"Are you an idiot, Wakaba!?" Macao scowled at his old friend. "Even if he has done everything he did, that doesn't change the fact that he lied to us!"

Kinana defended Wakaba. "But is that really the only reason you're doing this? That's just silly! Look at him; he's not even resisting!"

"Stay quiet, Kinana!"

"He's right, Miss Kinana…" Lelouch muttered as he slowly got up to his feet with his head hung low. "I lied to you all. What he's doing is fine by me. I deserve what I get for what I did to Fairy Tail over three years ago." He held out his arms. "Come on, Macao…" He looked up at the Guild Master, acceptance glittering from his facial expression. "…keep knocking me down if you want."

Macao paused as he stared at Lelouch intensely. The two of them stared at each other for what felt like ages before Macao sighed and said, "Are you going to tell us what we want to hear?"

Lelouch didn't put his arms back to his side as he replied, "If it's the truth you want, then yes."

"You'll tell us everything you know about Heaven Wolf Island?"

"Yes."

"You'll even tell us about the business with Zero and Tsumibito?"

"I'll explain as best as I can."

Macao contemplated Lelouch's answers for a short while before saying, "Let's hear it then."

* * *

Lelouch told everyone in Fairy Tail about what went on before he arrived in Magnolia. He brought up meeting Mystogan, everything that happened on Heaven Wolf Island, the business with Zero and Tsumibito (he skipped the part about Geass for good reason), and everything else from Kishi to the Wizard Generals. He also told them about Mavis Vermillion and what she did for him. The news about Mavis certainly shocked many members in the guild, but as Lelouch told more about his story, the more they started to accept his truth.

When he finished, Macao spoke up. "So basically, all along you wanted to bring Fiore back to how it was before you arrived here." He was back to sitting at his chair nd Lelouch was standing so that everyone was in front of his eyesight.

"That's right," Lelouch confirmed. "Admittedly, there may have been better ways I could've gone about this."

Macao nodded.

Laki spoke up. "There's something I don't get, Lelouch."

"Yes?"

"How did you get here if you're not from our world?"

Lelouch answered her question by saying, "I will be interrogating Tsumibito about that. Once I have all the answers I need, I will kill him."

Although they all knew that Tsumibito needed to be killed, the Fairy Tail members were uncomfortable about the idea of killing another person. They may not be the ones doing the killing, but thinking about it still made them uneasy.

Deciding that he heard enough from Lelouch, Macao touched on the next important topic. "Back to what I was saying earlier… You want to become Guild Master, am I still right?"

"If possible, yes."

"Why _should_ you become Guild Master?" Macao asked.

"I don't expect you to give up the position so easily, but I promise you that I will take the responsibility seriously. Also, my former Generals and a couple of friends of mine have no other place to go to. I was hoping I could make them members of the guild."

"You mean you want people like Jellal to join this guild?"

"Along with Andreas, Ryuko, Reiji, Ultear and Meredy; yes."

"That's a lot to ask for if you want me to step down as Master. You know they're former criminals."

"I understand your concern, but trust me; they would not turn their back on fellow allies. I am absolutely certain about that."

Macao considered everything he heard from Lelouch to reach a decision. If he excommunicated Lelouch, then he would never have to bother with this business again. If he let Lelouch become Guild Master, he may regret doing so later. But then again, it might take the stress off himself.

Wakaba spoke up. "I say we let him become Guild Master."

Macao looked at his friend in surprise. "Wakaba…!"

Laki nodded. "Me too."

"You as well, Laki?"

One by one, everyone in the guild (minus Asuka) voiced their opinions and agreed that Lelouch should become Guild Master. They explained by saying to Macao that he must be strong enough to become Master if he was able to fight Tsumibito and Zero at not only the same time, but also completely crush them under his foot later on. It was sort of a tradition that the strongest member of Fairy Tail was to be Guild Master. That was how Macao got the position.

Macao sighed after everyone explained their reasons to him. For the first time he could remember in a long time, he smiled. "Alright then…"

Lelouch looked at Macao in surprise. "Wait, you mean…?"

"It looks like everyone agrees, and I guess I do as well." Macao got up from his chair and walked over to Lelouch. "I give the position of Guild Master to you, Lelouch." He held out his right hand. "Do you accept it?"

Lelouch's face was full of shock and surprise. He couldn't believe they accepted the idea! It almost seemed like a miracle!

Smiling, Lelouch gratefully answered, "Yes…" He then shook former Guild Master Macao's hand. "…I do."

* * *

**December 16, X 791**

Nothing much has changed over the next three years for Fairy Tail and its sixth Guild Master, Lelouch. The only major difference in the guild was the addition of Jellal, Andreas, Ryuko, Reiji, Ultear and Meredy. All of them agreed to become members of Fairy Tail as long as Lelouch was there with them. Eventually, everyone who was already a part of Fairy Tail warmed up to them and welcomed them with open arms.

With a new and powerful Guild Master along with six wizards who could take on hundreds of people by themselves, Fairy Tail remained as one of the strongest guilds in Fiore, but were contenders with Sabre Tooth for the number one spot.

The newest Fairy Tail members all had the mark of the guild on different parts of their bodies. Jellal's mark was blue and was placed on the left side of his chest. Andreas' mark was white and on his left shoulder blade. Ryuko had hers placed on her right hip and got it in purple. Reiji had a green mark on the outside of his right bicep. Ultear had grey and on the large X-scar on her back. Meredy placed a pink mark above her right breast.

Lelouch had named them _Team Sorcière_; an idea Jellal came up with.

Today was a special day for the guild: seven years ago was when Heaven Wolf Island disappeared off the face of the earth. Lelouch, now 26 and with a more mature face, made the decision that only he, Jellal, Ultear and Meredy would go and check if the island had returned or not. Many of the members protested, but understood that Lelouch didn't want to leave the guild alone while Sabre Tooth was still dormant.

Lelouch didn't like Sabre Tooth one bit. During his rallying efforts to vacate Fiore of almost every single guild, they were the most difficult to convince to do what he asked. The only way they did comply was to have two of his Generals fight some of their strongest members in a straight-up fight. The Generals won, but it was definitely not easy.

Lelouch had a feeling that Sabre Tooth would attack Fairy Tail while he was gone. That was why he left Andreas, Ryuko and Reiji to help guard the guild just in case. He never believed in leaving things to chance too often.

* * *

The four wizards departed on a ship and headed towards the open ocean where Heaven Wolf Island once was. It was fairly simple; it was made of wood, had a few beds inside, and was durable, to say the least. They were going to need the extra space if they get what they came for.

Aside from the usual attire Lelouch had been wearing for a while now, he also wore his large Guild Master coat. It was black, had grey frills around the sleeves and the collar down to the end. There was a grey Fairy Tail symbol in the centre of it. Lelouch had his arms inside the sleeves as he stood at the front end of the ship, arms folded; the sea breeze making the coat levitate in the air.

Ultear came up to the Guild Master by herself. "Are you sure we'll find them this year?" Her clothing had changed like everyone else's. She was wearing a black tabard-like garment that barely covered her front and back. She donned long black boots that reached up to her thighs, and wore a dark blue cape. Her hair was flat, and she didn't have any make-up on her face.

Lelouch only turned his head to look at Ultear. "I'm fairly sure about it. Mavis may not have specified when we will see the rest of our guild members, but even magic as powerful as hers would have to run out. If nothing happens in four hours, we will leave and come back the next day."

"And what about the day after that?"

"We'll wait until next year, then."

Ultear nodded quietly as Meredy walked up to her.

Meredy had matured greatly in seven years. She was a bit taller than before, and her hair was curly and long. She was wearing a dark red dress with a frilly trim around her now quite large cleavage. There was a gold bowtie in front of her bust line, and there was gold trimming around the short skirt. She wore brown boots and black stockings. The Fairy Tail mark was clearly in sight.

"Hey Ultear," Meredy chimed as she stood to Ultear's left. "Hi Lelouch."

Lelouch turned his upper body to face Meredy and smiled weakly. "Hello Meredy. Forgive me for not greeting you enthusiastically," he apologised humbly.

"Nerves getting to you, Lelouch?" Jellal joined in the conversation amongst the other wizards. He was wearing the same clothing as when he was a General, but he didn't have the Great Wizard General armband.

Lelouch nodded his head as he faced the ocean again.

Ultear remarked, "I can't believe the irony of your outfit, Jellal."

Said man grinned. "And why's that?"

"You know the answer to that." Ultear giggled while Jellal chuckled slightly.

The wind stopped. Lelouch felt a presence out at sea. He alerted the members of Team Sorcière, "We have company."

The other wizards were now on edge as they looked in the direction Lelouch was looking at. Jellal walked up to the trio and stood to Lelouch's right. Ultear and Meredy stood to Lelouch's left.

When the presence was clearer in sight, Lelouch instantly recognised who it was. "It's Mavis."

The other three stayed silent as they stared at the smiling young girl standing on top of the calm waters. Her eyes were closed, as if she was sleeping. When she opened them, she raised her hands at an acute angle.

Beams of light emerged from the ocean as a glowing circle formed under Mavis' feet. The waves began to intensify and grow to large proportions while it shone a brilliant gold colour that rocked Fairy Tail's boat.

A large gold dome rose from the ocean depths behind the First Guild Master of Fairy Tail. The dome was enormous; titanic in size and magnificence. The Fairy Tail insignia was imprinted on the dome wall.

"Amazing…" Ultear muttered.

"Just wait," Lelouch said, standing as if the waves weren't affecting him. "It isn't over yet."

The gigantic golden dome towered over the boat. It shone outstandingly as wings and the symbol of Fairy Tail were imprinted upon it. Inside the dome was the largest tree the four Fairy Tail wizards have ever seen, and only Jellal hadn't seen it beforehand. Water rolled down the dome's shape effortlessly as the raging gold waters in the area began to subside and settle down.

Jellal's face was of shock and awe. "That's…!"

"Yes…" Lelouch was actually quite calm, but indeed very impressed by Mavis' spell. "…that right there is Heaven Wolf Island."

The dome dissolved rapidly, and the island settled back into the sea; waves crashing. Heaven Wolf Island was back. There was not a scratch on it.

Mavis stared at the people on the boat before turning back to face the island itself. She proceeded to walk to the shore as Lelouch told Ultear to get the boat over to Mavis' location as soon as possible. They were going to follow her.

Mavis moved through the forest as Lelouch and the others followed her with haste. Lelouch decided to get ahead of everyone by using Angel Step. He reappeared deep in the forest where he thought Mavis was.

But when he made it to a small cliff-side, he didn't see Mavis like he expected to.

Jellal, Ultear and Meredy made it as well, calling out to him and asking why he stopped. But Lelouch didn't answer them; he just stared in silence at the sight down below him. When the others arrived, they stopped and looked at what he saw.

It was a boy. He had pink hair. He was underneath a pile of rubble. He was full of bandages. Lelouch, Jellal and Ultear knew who this was.

Jellal smiled. "So…it looks like he's still alive."

Lelouch cracked a grin. "As expected…" He jumped down and landed flawlessly. "…Natsu."

* * *

"Romeo," Macao called. "Are you sure you didn't want to go? I'm sure they would've let you come along."

Romeo was sitting at a table reading a book. He answered bluntly, "I'm sure. What if what the Master said before doesn't turn out to be true? What if everyone is dead when the island returns?" Romeo had grown quite serious despite being told of a hope-spot over the years. He hadn't smiled once since the island disappeared.

"Don't be like that!" Macao tried to cheer his son up. "You got to have more faith in Lelouch!"

"You didn't before he became Guild Master."

Macao's mouth was left gaping as he futilely tried to defend his case. But he couldn't, so he dropped the discussion completely.

Suddenly, the front doors of the guild burst wide open and caught everyone's attention. One by one, Jellal, Ultear and Meredy filed out and walked over to the rest of Team Sorcière, who were sitting at a table closest to the job board. Andreas, Ryuko and Reiji haven't changed their attire either, but lacked the armbands they had three years ago. Lelouch stood in front of the doorway and looked at everyone inside with a serious look on his face. Almost out of nowhere, he smiled as he moved over to the right side of the doors.

The first person to walk in had a massive grin on his face as the light shone on his pink hair. One after another, more people walked inside the Fairy Tail guild.

Natsu chuckled as he waved. "We're home!"

"Sorry it took us so long, everyone!" Happy proclaimed excitedly as he flew into sight.

Everyone who didn't go to Heaven Wolf Island was shocked to see everyone who did go walk inside the building. They were left completely speechless and were quivering. None of them could work out if it was because they were happy or they thought they were seeing ghosts.

"How strange! We seem to have some new faces!" Master Makarov pointed out cheerfully.

Laki cheered as she exclaimed, "You all look so young!"

Nab joined in as well. "It's been seven years!"

Vijeeter voiced his own question. "What happened!?"

"Um…" Lucy muttered, covered in bandages like everyone else was.

* * *

_This was what happened when Lelouch and the others found Natsu. Lelouch decided to humour himself as he walked up to Natsu, shouted, "Hey Natsu; wake up!" and then kicked him in the stomach, waking the Dragon Slayer up from his seven year slumber while holding his stomach in comical pain._

"_Ow… What was that for!?" Natsu whined as he got up onto his feet, but stopped and stared at Lelouch in awe. Confused, he asked him while scratching his head, "Where did you get those clothes?"_

_Lelouch laughed as he patted Natsu's hair. "I'll explain later. We need to find the others first."_

_Natsu then took notice of the three individuals standing at the cliff-side. He recognised Jellal and was quite shocked. "Wait…! Why is he here!?"_

"_Again, I'll explain later." Lelouch's tone was more serious this time as he put his hand back down to his side. "Right now, we-"_

_Mumbling came from behind Lelouch as Happy began to wipe his eyes. "Is it morning already…? Where's my fish?"_

"_Wait wait wait wait wait!" Natsu repeated. "We were attacked by Acnologia, and then-!" Natsu realised. "Where is everyone else!?"_

_Lelouch sighed. "You only just registered what I was trying to say to you already? You haven't changed a bit from the short time I knew you."_

"_Over here," Mavis called from upon a boulder._

_Lelouch looked at her and smiled. "Well well, it's been a while, Master Mavis."_

_Mavis smiled sweetly as she nodded her head. "Yup! It's good to see you again, Master Lelouch!"_

_Natsu stared at Mavis blankly, slow on registering what she just addressed Lelouch as. When it clicked in place, Natsu burst out screaming, "YOU'RE GUILD MASTER NOW!? WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON!?"_

"_Natsu: calm down. I'll explain everything once we find the others." He looked at Mavis and excused himself, "Excuse me for a second, Mavis. I need to tell those who accompanied me what to do for now."_

"_Alright!" Mavis giggled._

_Lelouch 'stepped' over to Jellal, Ultear and Meredy. "I need you three to stay where Natsu is standing. He and I will go look for everyone else with Mavis. We'll meet up with you when we're done."_

_The trio nodded as Lelouch 'stepped' back to Natsu, shocking him with the speed the sixth Guild Master used. "Come on, let's follow Master Mavis."_

_Natsu shook himself out of shock as he nodded. "Yeah, alright."_

_Person by person, Lelouch, Natsu and Mavis found everyone else on the island with little difficulty. When everyone gathered, Mavis explained to them how they all survived._

"_At the time, I took the bond between you and the faith you have in one another, and converted it all into magic power. Your feelings activated Fairy Sphere: one of the Three Great Fairy Magic Spells. It's Absolute Defence Magic that protects the guild against all evil._

"_However, everyone was sealed away in a frozen state, except for Master Lelouch…and it took seven years to be dispelled."_

_Makarov didn't quite understand something. Sure, he was happy that the founder of Fairy Tail protected everyone, but what about Lelouch? "How did Lelouch get off the island? He was with us when Acnologia attacked."_

_Lelouch explained as he stood next to Mavis above the cliff-side, "Mavis used a bit of her magic to get me off the island right before Acnologia attacked. I was tasked to stop certain things from happening in everyone's absence."_

_Mavis nodded as she began to evaporate into golden orbs of light. "Because everyone had a strong bond with one another, all of you were able to pull off a miracle." Her final words were, "Fairy Tail has gone though many hardships, but it's still a fine guild… Right, Third Master?" Mavis smiled before disappearing._

* * *

"And then she was gone," Makarov finished while sitting in the centre of a table, surrounded by everyone who wanted to hear the story.

Some people didn't pay attention to the explanation. These included Romeo and Andreas. Romeo was staring at Natsu in disbelief.

Said Dragon Slayer took notice and pointed out with a smile, "You've gotten big, huh, Romeo?"

Those words set Romeo off as he began to cry amongst the happy crowd around Makarov. He choked and tried to hold them back, but more and more tears just kept flowing down his cheeks. He put on a smile like everyone else. "Welcome back, Natsu…everyone…"

But Andreas looked at three specific white-haired individuals. He was almost rendered speechless. "Mirajane… Elfman… Lisanna…?"

The three of them turned around and saw Andreas standing. None of them recognised him.

Mirajane asked politely, "Hello there! What's your name?" She did find it odd that he knew their names, but was still going to be polite regardless.

Andreas was almost taken aback by her voice. But he didn't move as he answered, "It…it's me… Your father…!"

Everyone heard Andreas and looked at him in shock. Even Lelouch was caught off-guard. Reiji was surprised, and commented, "Okay, did _anyone_ see that coming _at all_!?"

No-one answered him.

* * *

End of Chapter 25

**(A/N: And so, I now finish the **_**Hidden Revelation**_** arc with a cliff-hanger! Honestly, did anyone see this coming? Don't worry; I didn't pull this out of my arse. I planned this since chapter 11.**

**So let's sum up the main points:**

**Lelouch is now the sixth Guild Master of Fairy Tail.**

**Everyone on Heaven Wolf Island is back. Therefore the seven year time-skip is FINALLY over.**

**Andreas is the father of the Strauss family. Yes, I know they have different surnames. I will better explain this when the time is right.**

**Tsumibito is locked up. You will see him eventually.**

**Now I'm going to tell you all something. I decided that I will start new stories. That means I won't get back to this story for a while. I'm not abandoning it, but I won't continue it until I try writing other stories I have in mind. You can check what they are on my bio page.**

**Don't forget to review and tell me what you think. Sorry, but the polls have closed! If you haven't voted, then too bad! This is Epic Ebi, and I'll see you all in the next chapter of **_**Fairy Chess**_**!)**


	26. Reconciliation

Chapter 26: Reconciliation

**(A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to the 'second season' of **_**Fairy Chess**_**. I have one more chapter to get through before the next arc will begin, and that's the one you're reading right now. If you remember, Lucy has to still learn about her father's fate before anything happens. If you know what I'm talking about, then I won't bother explain myself, except I will say that there will be differences and new things added to that particular point in the story.**

**If you're still here reading this, that would mean you're waiting for me to shut up and to get to the story. I'll gladly comply with that. Enjoy the chapter.)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass **_**or **_**Fairy Tail**_**. Most of my original characters are based off of other characters from various anime and a game, and I do not own any of them either; even if I changed their personalities slightly.**

* * *

The air in the Fairy Tail guild was completely still as Andreas Rokubuki and the Strauss siblings looked at each other, while everyone else watched them in silence. Andreas was shocked, while Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna were extremely confused. None of them remembered who their father was, and the idea that he was standing right in front of them was a little off-putting.

In the silence, Guild Master Lelouch remembered a short chat he had with Andreas when they left Fiore seven years ago. _I see… So his three children he told me about… They were the Strauss family all along. But hold on. Their surnames are different. What happened that caused such a divide between this family?_

Still keeping to himself, Lelouch decided,_ I'll have to ask the Magic Council about this as soon as possible. None of this is making a lot of sense right now._

Mirajane spoke on behalf of her younger siblings. "Pardon me," she said, dropping a bit of her sweet side momentarily. "But I don't remember who our father was; neither do Elfman and Lisanna for that matter. I don't mean to be entirely rude, but saying that out of the blue isn't very nice."

"Mirajane, wait," Andreas pleaded. "I can explain."

Lelouch walked up to the group of four. "Mirajane, don't get offended by what he's saying."

"But Lelouch," Elfman began sternly. "This Man just said he's our father even though we don't remember seeing him!"

Lelouch spoke to him directly. "I understand, Elfman. But I know Andreas well enough to say that he wouldn't intentionally make fun of anyone he considers close to him."

Reiji voiced in. "He's right you know. Andreas, Lelouch, Ryuko, Jellal, Ultear and Meredy and I have travelled together for four years. All of us know each other pretty damn well."

Lisanna spoke up. "But then…why don't any of us remember him?"

Andreas was heartbroken to hear that. "Lisanna, I…"

Lelouch cut Andreas off. "Hold on just a minute. Andreas would not lie about a subject like this. I will talk to the Magic Council and get to the bottom of this."

Elfman was confused. "Why the Magic Council?"

"Because Andreas was a former traitor of Fiore's army and has told me about his family on more than one occasion. He said that he had three children, but he never did specify any names," Lelouch explained. "For now, try not to be offended by what he might want to talk about with any of you. Just remember, while no-one in Fairy Tail has seen the three of you for seven years, Andreas hasn't seen the three of you for a lot longer than that. Try and understand what he's feeling right now."

After a moment of silence, Mirajane broke it and said, "Alright then." She looked at Andreas and bowed slightly. "I'm terribly sorry about that. Your announcement was just so sudden." She stood back up straight and smiled. "It was quite a shock to hear it."

Andreas looked away and walked out of the building in silence, making Mirajane feel guilty about the ordeal.

Reiji stood up from the table and ran over to his friend. "Hey Andreas, wait up! Don't leave!" He left the building like Andreas did.

The Sixth Guild Master sighed. He turned to Mirajane. "Are you okay?"

She flinched slightly and lied. "Oh no, I'm fine! Don't worry!" She put on a fake smile.

Lelouch frowned and decided to stay quiet about it. "I see. Excuse me." He walked over to Makarov's table and said, "Makarov, may I have a word with you?"

The Third Guild Master nodded as he knew exactly what Lelouch was going to talk about. "I understand. I'll meet you upstairs."

Lelouch bowed his head as he 'stepped' out of sight.

Andreas stopped outside the Fairy Tail building as Reiji finally caught up with him.

"Hey man, you okay?" Reiji asked, concerned.

Andreas kept his mouth shut and stood there in silence.

"Look, I get the fact that your family doesn't remember you and you're upset about that, but still you-"

"Mirajane was old enough to remember my name!" Andreas cried out, his voice crooked. He looked over his right shoulder as tears fell down his eyes. "Don't you get it!? Those bastards at the Magic Council altered my family's memories!" His fists were shaking almost violently. He looked back in front of him and dropped to his hands and knees, sobbing.

Reiji stood there in silence. How could he answer to that? He didn't like the Council that much either, but Andreas' case right now was worse. The poor father wasn't even remembered by his eldest daughter because of the Council. The fact that he was crying showed that what the Council did was horrible.

Andreas, even though he was a criminal before in the Council's eyes, was just a normal father deep down inside.

Reiji walked over to his friend, bent down to his level, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, man. I'm sure everyone in Fairy Tail will try to help you out with this. I bet my money that Lelouch would go straight to the Magic Council and ask them why they did it." Of course, the old Council members were dead. Lelouch didn't know where Doranbolt was at the moment though.

Mirajane exited the Fairy Tail building, telling Elfman and Lisanna that she would be back in a minute, to go see if Andreas was alright. She couldn't shake the feeling that she hurt Andreas by admitting she didn't remember him. But she also couldn't shake the feeling that she _did_ know him. But nothing came to mind; it felt like she was being blocked by something.

She saw Andreas standing up next to Reiji and called out, "Hey…"

Andreas flinched for a moment before turning around to see his daughter look at him with sorrowful eyes. He didn't say anything. He just looked at her in silence.

Mirajane continued, looking right at her supposed father despite wanting to look away. "Are you…okay…?"

Andreas closed his eyes and sighed before walking past her. "I'm fine," he muttered quietly to her. He was back inside and went to sit back at his table with Ryuko.

Reiji walked up to the Strauss sibling. "It's not your fault."

She nodded, now avoiding eye contact.

"I mean it! Sure, he may be down that you don't remember him, but once he gets over that, he'll be glad that he can see his family again."

"You're right." The She-Devil looked up and put on her bravest smile. "Elfman, Lisanna and I will try to get to know him in the meantime."

Reiji patted her head. "Good girl." He walked past her and back to his seat next to Andreas.

Lelouch and Makarov were up on the second floor of the Fairy Tail building, having a very important discussion.

Lelouch started off. "Do you plan on becoming Guild Master again?"

Makarov answered truthfully. "To be honest, as long as you're doing the job right, I don't mind entrusting Fairy Tail to you, despite that you're so young. On another matter…" He paused before continuing. "There is something I'm considering teaching you to use; being Guild Master and all."

"Fairy Law," Lelouch stated.

Makarov nodded. "Macao must've told you about it. But I assume he could not teach it himself to you."

"That's right. Since you disappeared for seven years, Macao was unable to pass on the knowledge needed to master the spell to me. When will you be able to teach me?"

"Soon, hopefully. I will teach you the spell after I show you something important. Even you may not have seen this place, and I would like to keep its location between us only."

Lelouch was naturally curious about this. "I'm listening."

Makarov gave Lelouch the details about when and where to meet. It would be near midnight when the two of them will meet. Once Lelouch memorised everything, he nodded in understanding.

The two of them parted and mingled with the other members of Fairy Tail again.

* * *

Lelouch met Makarov in an underground area underneath the Fairy Tail building.

Suddenly, two massive doors opened in front of the two Guild Masters to reveal a blinding light. But neither was fazed by the brightness. Lelouch, however, was shocked to see what was behind the door as the wind blew his coat all over the place.

"This…! This is…!" Lelouch was at a loss for words.

"Yes… Lumen Histoire," Makarov confirmed. "Only the previous and the newly instated Guild Masters are allowed to see this. No-one else must find out about what lies behind this door." He looked up to meet Lelouch's sight. "Do you understand, Sixth?"

Lelouch stopped being shocked and met Makarov's gaze. With a serious tone, he answered, "Yes, Third."

* * *

The next day passed, and by now, everyone had gotten better accustomed to the strange new world they were now living in. They weren't quite used to it yet, but it was a start for them nonetheless. One particular person learnt of her fate the hard way during the sunset.

Lucy was just kicked out of her apartment due to not being able to pay the ridiculous rent she now had.

"5,880,000 jewel…" she muttered with her head resting on her knees and Plue by her side. "I can't pay that… The guild seems fine though…" That was because Lelouch was able to keep the guild free of debt when he became Guild Master. But everyone in the guild was still low on cash. "Seven years… That's longer than I can imagine." She went on to talk about how everyone had changed while the Heaven Wolf Team were missing.

But then she remembered her father.

"Father… That means I haven't been in touch with him for seven years. He's probably worried about me…" After remembering how Gildarts was crying when he reunited with Cana, Lucy decided, "Maybe I'll go see Dad. This may be the first time I've ever thought I wanted to see him!" She smiled, and Plue was happy too.

"Pun-pun."

"I-It's not to borrow money!"

"Pun-pun."

"Lucy," said a voice.

She looked up and saw Lelouch standing in front of her. "Oh, M-Master Lelouch, I…"

"Don't bother with the title; just Lelouch is fine." His face was quite solemn.

"O-Okay…" She stood up. "Did you want to talk to me about something?"

The Guild Master stayed very quiet. "Come with me." He held her hand, causing her to blush like any girl would. And in an instant, the two of them disappeared with Lelouch's Angel Step.

The two of them arrived in front of the entrance to the Love & Lucky guild, where Lucy's father worked at.

The Sixth Master let go of Lucy – who was absolutely terrified by the speed – and walked up to the front gate and stood there in silence.

The Celestial Spirit wizard called out, "Hey, what's the big idea, huh!? Give me a warning next time before you move at that speed!"

"Lucy," he said again, quieting her outburst. "Look around you. Where are you?"

She glanced around, and she asked him, "I'm at my father's guild now, what's your point?"

Lelouch winced. _Here I go…_ "About your father… I… …am sorry to tell you this, but…"

She felt something was coming.

"…your father passed away… …one month ago…"

A gust of wind flew by as the two Fairy Tail wizards remained silent.

But Lucy did not cry.

* * *

The two of them, after Lucy placed flowers upon her father's grave, decided to walk back to Magnolia. It was incredibly silent. Until two obnoxious women started to walk past the duo.

"My old man stinks to high heaven and he never shuts up!" the one with the oval-shaped head and massive mouth said.

The long-faced one talked about her dad too. "My dad bugs the hell out of me too!"

"Why does he have to be so annoying!?"

Lelouch was very pissed off at these two women, and decided to set them straight. "Excuse me ladies," he addressed with his smooth speech, trying to infatuate them so that he could give them the wham line. It worked so far. "There is something I wanted to talk to you two about." When they approached him, thanks to his looks, he then said with a ferocious death glare, "If you don't shut up about your fathers, then I am going to have to force you to. _Understand? This isn't the best time to talk like that, not to mention in front of the wrong people. _Now get lost."

They scampered away, not speaking a word.

"Stop it," said Lucy.

He turned to face her.

"Sorry for making you take me to that place," she muttered loud enough for him to hear.

"Lucy…"

"I just…wasn't prepared to hear about my dad like that…" She turned and faked her smile, avoiding direct eye-contact. "Two months ago- No, seven years have passed… The last time I saw my father was in Acalypha… I never loved him, even when I was a kid. That business with Phantom Lord made it even worse…"

Of course, Lelouch had hardly heard about the Phantom Lord incident, but he kept his mouth shut.

She gripped the strap on her handbag. "But after what happened in Acalypha, I had the feeling the relationship with my father could change." She laughed weakly, her eyes shielded under her hair. "It's just like him to lose his health from working too hard. I don't understand it… I'm sad…and lonely…" She looked up to the sky as the wind blew the leaves from the trees around them. "But the tears won't come…"

_Lucy…_ Lelouch thought to himself, reminded of what it was like to lose someone who was important to him.

"I guess I really didn't really have feelings for…"

"Don't say that," Lelouch told the blonde wizard, interrupting her. "Whether or not you cry for the person you care about doesn't matter. It's what you feel inside that counts. Even you should understand what that means." He continued despite Lucy not looking at him. "Everyone in Fairy Tail has lost something important to them. Some are only just getting the opportunity to regain what they thought was lost for good.

"So do what you can…to preserve the memories of your father. You should be grateful to have had one in your life." He only said this because he doesn't remember any of his own family members. But if he did, then he would certainly have not said what he did.

Lucy nodded. "Thanks… I really needed to talk to someone…"

They made their way back home.

* * *

The day was still the same as Lucy sat underneath a tree in the park in Magnolia when the landlady – wearing the blonde's old outfit – walked up to her.

"Landlady…" Lucy noticed the fat woman approaching.

But in no way did she expect her to pick Lucy up from her foot. "Hey! What are you doing!?" She was then dragged along the ground. "Somebody! Help me!"

She was finally let go after she was thrown into her old room in the apartment. The door was slammed. Lucy got up and looked around.

The room was exactly the same as it was before she left for Heaven Wolf Island. Her bed was made, her books were organised… Everything almost appeared to be frozen in time.

"My room…" She then noted how clean it was, even though she was gone for seven years.

"I've been cleaning it every week," said the landlady behind the door when she heard the wizard's muttering. "Although several outfits have gone to the moths… I took one for myself." And that she was; it was Lucy's first outfit she wore before she joined Fairy Tail (and it didn't fit the landlady at all). "Look on the table."

When Lucy did, she noticed several presents that appeared to be addressed to her.

"They were sent here every year on the same day," the landlady continued.

Lucy walked up to one of the presents and read the card on it. It said: _To my dear daughter, Happy Birthday. Love, Daddy._ She felt a tingling at the back of her eyes as she realised. _He…remembered?_

"One more was delivered this morning."

She looked at the small present and the envelope on her bed. She sat down on her knees, opened the letter, and then read the contents.

_To my dear daughter,_

_Happy Birthday! Although I don't know when you'll read this note…_

_Much time has passed since I heard that you and your friends had disappeared. Although I'm very worried, I have faith in you. You remind me so much of Layla. You were born with many blessings. I'm sure you're safe. I have faith that we'll be able to meet again._

_As for me, it looks like I'll soon be finalizing business negotiations in the West. I'm busy, but each day is satisfying. Every day, I think of you and Layla. You're our pride and joy. I want you to go down the route you strongly believe in. And I want to see you again… …as soon as I can._

_Lucy, I always have and always will love you._

_ Love,_

_ Daddy._

"Father…" Tears flowed like a waterfall from the young woman's eyes as she finished reading the letter, staining the paper with her crying. She sobbed and sobbed, her heart torn for never being able to see her father again. "I… …love you too…!"

For the remainder of that day, Lucy, Natsu and Happy went off on another job to regain their expenses, accepting the new life they were stuck with and were going to make the most of.

* * *

It was a new day.

In the reconstructed Magic Council building was a prison down at the deepest levels. Inside the prison cell was a dimly lit light bulb hanging over the head of the prisoner. His white hair cascaded down over his eyes (if he was free, he would have purple contact lenses over his naturally red irises). His wrists were bound by a long chain that reached to the top of the roof. The chain itself acted as a conductor for magic, sending any he was excreting into powering the light bulb.

Although that wasn't a lot of power anyway, because his ankles were shackled to the back corners of the room, sapping the rest of his magic from him to prevent his escape.

He was sitting in the centre of his cell with his legs forming a 'V' shape, and wearing filthy white pants. The light reflected off his well-toned yet weak body. More than once he had considered accepting his fate and trying to carry it out by himself.

But Lelouch vi Britannia would never quit.

An expected arrival came to meet him, standing behind the cold steel bars that separate Tsumibito's world from everyone else's. He almost didn't bother look up to meet the person's eyes – seeing as how he knew who it was already – but he hadn't seen a human being for a few days now. He wanted to make sure he wasn't losing his sanity due to being cooped up in a hell hole for over four years.

As he looked up with his Geass-marked left eye, he greeted with a small smile, "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

"You shouldn't be," Lelouch said to his Edolas counterpart. "You and I still need to talk before your execution."

"So it appears that the Magic Council is growing tired of housing a high-class criminal like me for extended periods of time, huh? Perhaps they'll finally cut me some slack and put me out of my misery..."

"You are not going anywhere while I'm still around. I already told the Earth Land Alliance and the Magic Council years ago that I was going to be responsible for your end."

"By using your Geass on them no less?" Tsumibito countered slyly, shutting Lelouch up as the white-haired man chuckled. "Let's face it, Lelouch. You and I are the same no matter what the both of us do. You know that using your Geass on the Council is wrong since you became a member of Fairy Tail-"

"_I _am the Guild Master now," he interrupted.

"-and you also know as a Fairy Tail _Guild Master_ that murder is unacceptable amongst those you are in charge of. If I were you I wouldn't feel worthy of being in charge of a guild like that. A person like you belongs to a dark guild just like I was, and there is _nothing_ you can do to change that fact. Besides, you killed someone before, haven't you?"

That was true. Lelouch had killed someone before; his name was Lahar, one of the former members of the Magic Council. Of course, it was self-defence, but still… "What made you this way, Tsumibito?"

"I thought I told you a long time ago. I am your Edolas counterpart, and when Zero and I split into two, I was changed into a new man as a result. What you see of me is exactly the kind of person you used to be in your darkest moments; all of which I remember like it was yesterday."

Lelouch scowled.

"Of course," Tsumibito continued with a little laugh. "You know what it feels like to be full of remorse and anger, even if your memories are as empty as the plate of food I'm fed every couple of days. After all, how could anyone forget a girl like Kishi?"

Lelouch was livid now. He fired a 'sphere' into Tsumibito through the bars of the cell. "Don't you _ever_ speak of her name in front of _me!_"

Tsumibito emerged from the smoke with his forehead bleeding a little. "Ow," was all he said, intentionally making light of the situation.

Lelouch forced himself to let it go. No matter how much he wanted to kill Tsumibito on the spot, he still had unanswered questions to ask. "Let's get straight to the questions."

"My, quick to change the subject-"

"Shut up." The prisoner did so. "We're going to do this like we have been for the past four years; I'm going to ask questions and you're going to answer them truthfully."

So far, Lelouch had asked many questions regarding where Tsumibito came from and what he did at the time. Tsumibito actually told him the truth: he was the Edolas counterpart, he knew Erza's Edolas counterpart, and he joined the Seven Kin of Purgatory soon after he discovered how to use his magic. Whenever Lelouch asked about what happened to his life before Earth Land, Tsumibito always avoided the topic for some reason.

But today he was certain it was going to be different. "First question: Who am I? What was my upbringing?"

And this time, the white-haired wizard was finally going to say something.

He sighed and answered, "You real name is Lelouch vi Britannia; son of Empress Marianne vi Britannia and big brother to Nunnally vi Britannia."

The answer struck a chord somewhere in Lelouch's head as he continued to listen to the explanation.

"Your father was the Emperor, Charles zi Britannia. He ruled over the Holy Britannian Empire for decades."

"Who is 'Nunnally' exactly? What kind of younger sibling was she?" Lelouch asked, remembering associating that name with a blind girl in a wheelchair.

Even Tsumibito couldn't hide the sorrow on his face, and when he tried, all he could do was look at the ground and hope his hair covered his eyes. "She was…" _Should I lie to him? Should I take back what I said and say he didn't have a sister? No… No, I can't. I know what it was like to not remember Nunnally. I can't take her away from myself like this…_ "…the most cherished sister you ever had."

"!" Lelouch was taken aback by the honesty behind his other self's words.

"But there were other people you still held close to your heart aside from her… Suzaku… C.C…. Kallen… Shirley… The Student Council… So many people you never realised you shared a bond with…" His eyes were now completely covered up by his hair as he remembered everyone's smiling faces in different occurrences.

"…" Lelouch decided to go for it. "Tell me about them all. Who are all those people? I have memories of their faces, but I don't know the meaning behind my past thoughts of them."

The prisoner stayed silent for a moment in reconciliation, temporarily forgetting everything he has done in Edolas and Earth Land, and instead thought back to the happy times he shared with so many of his friends and loved ones, right up until that fatal stab that completed the Zero Requiem. He talked to himself without realising it, even being loud enough for Lelouch himself to hear.

"Suzaku once told me something that still holds truth to it. Happiness is like glass; you can't see it, but you know it's here. You just have to change your perspective slightly. The light on that glass reflects back at you, reminding you of how beautiful each moment concealed behind it really is." He changed the words up slightly, and even continued to add more to it. "But I shattered my glass when I sacrificed myself to unite the world into one. I chose that path, without even realising that there was no need to go through with it… …especially after I found out Nunnally was still alive…"

Lelouch listened in contently, feeling like he remembered a time where he thought something like that. But he didn't come here to listen to a lecture on Philosophy; he came here to get more answers from his counterpart so that Tsumibito could be executed for good. The Council really was getting restless, so Lelouch had to speed things up soon.

"I want you to tell me, Tsumibito. Who are these people?"

"Can you… …promise me something?" Tsumibito asked solemnly, which in Lelouch's opinion was very out of character according to what he knew of this side of himself. "Don't ask questions about the past anymore, at least not until you killed me. It will all become clear to you once you do that anyway, so there's no need to ask such questions. And one more thing…" He looked up to his Earth Land counterpart with the saddest eyes. "Can I please meet Erza just once? Before my execution?" Even though he was ready to die, he couldn't bear leaving someone behind without a proper conclusion to his life for a second time. He didn't want a repeat of what happened with Nunnally. Not to mention he still had other plans in mind.

The Sixth Master reluctantly gave in. "Very well then… I'll have Erza meet with you in a couple of months." He turned for the exit. "Don't die until then, Lelouch." And then he was gone.

Tsumibito smirked deviously. "Don't worry; I don't plan on dying without a fight anyway…"

* * *

Lelouch arrived at a very familiar spot that day, at sunset, with several clouds rolling in from the distant mountains.

It was a hill, with a forest down below. This place held two moments in time. The first moment was the arrival of Tsumibito and Zero, right after they were exiled from Edolas.

The second moment was Kishi's funeral.

The Sixth Guild Master of Fairy Tail walked over to the gravestone, taking note of the patch of pink flowers that grew in front of it. It'd been almost seven years since he last stood here – here with his Generals – to say farewell to their friend. In Lelouch's case, it was a moment for him to say goodbye to his lover.

He still remembered the first moment he met her. In the library, with her cute glasses in front of her eyes, her not too short brown hair, her beautiful smile… Everything about her, Lelouch still remembered clearly, almost like a wonderful dream he had last night.

But ever since that day when Crocus was obliterated, he never had sweet dreams.

All of that pain he remembered seeing behind Kishi's eyes; all of that _fear_ behind her eyes; all of that love behind her eyes…

Lelouch started crying without even knowing it, his soft tears lightly touching the pink flower petals on the ground at his feet. _Kishi…_ He continued sobbing, biting back as many tears as he could before he even thought about trying to do what he planned to do. He wiped his eyes in frustration; he thought he was over this stage, over Kishi's death. But he just found out that was not the case; her death still hurt him greatly. This was no time to cry over the past; he was here to fulfil a promise he made at this spot all of those years ago.

He raised his right hand, generated a little bit of magic into it, and whispered, "Shatter…"

Suddenly, the mark of Fairy Tail appeared, crafted into the open spot above Kishi's name. With that action, he followed up with, "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Kishi… Just like you wanted…" _And now I have fulfilled my promise to you…_

He laughed sincerely as a single tear escaped him, trying his best to be happy that Kishi was finally a member of the guild he grew to love. It took him so long to do it, but with Fiore now in a state of peace, he finally had the time to do this. Yes, he knew Kishi was gone. And yes, she wasn't going to ever come back.

But just for today, Lelouch wanted to pretend to see her smiling face after being inducted into her favourite guild. The happiness radiating off of her as Lelouch imagined the scene in front of him. _'Thank you, Lelouch!'_ he imagined her saying. _'I'm so happy!'_ She laughed as his imagination wavered and ended, his eyes tearing up again.

He dropped to his hands and knees, head hung low as he closed his eyes and cried. "Kishi…! I'm so sorry! I couldn't save you! I didn't want things to be like this… Why did you have to go?" He arched his back up and raised his head to face the sky. "_WHY!?_"

Rain started pouring down, soaking Lelouch's clothing as his tears mixed with the raindrops.

He dropped back down to all fours and kept on crying, muttering Kishi's name repeatedly as if he was talking on a looped recording.

In the distance, someone stood in the rain with a black raincoat on and a black umbrella over their head. The person's heels made a noise with each step closer to the blithering mess that was Lelouch. She stopped at his right side and bent down to talk with him.

"So this is where you went off to," said Mirajane. "Andreas told me you were likely going to be here at this hour."

Lelouch stopped crying and sat on his knees, his arms dangling at his side and his head held high into the sky, raindrops falling on his skin and the hair that shielded his eyes. "Why are you here, Mirajane?"

"Well… I thought it was strange that you weren't back at the guild before it was closed. So I asked Andreas if he saw you anywhere, and he said that this would be where you most likely were."

"…" Lelouch finally responded after a short pause, closing his eyelids half-way to prevent rain from splashing on his eyes. "I see… So your father sent you here…"

"I don't know about that," Mirajane admitted. "Or at least not yet. I promised myself to try to get to know him better, and I discussed the idea with Elfman and Lisanna as well."

"Tell me, what did you do to handle the pain of a lost loved one?"

"Huh?" Mirajane was a little confused by his question.

"To my understanding, you thought you lost your little sister in an accident nine years ago. That was what Macao and the others told me anyway. So how…? How did you live with that before you found your sister alive again?"

Mirajane thought about it to herself. It would be an understatement to say that her life changed when her sister 'died'. There were many other factors to it: the pain, the sleepless nights, the constant crying, the depression and even the recovery period that made her the way she was today. It was certainly not an easy process, and now she saw Lelouch going through the same thing she was going through.

"If you ask me, all I did was learn to accept what came to be," she answered. "I know what you're going through. It's a tough road to go down, and it could break you completely if you're not careful. But the best way to move on and be happy with the rest of your life is to accept one thing: every life has an end, whether it's a sad end, or a happy end. All you got to do is accept the inevitable."

Lelouch looked into her eyes and thought, _She's right. How could I have lost sight of that? All this time… …I've just been busy brooding and scheming to make Fiore a peaceful place again. Ha, what a fool I am…_ He smiled genuinely as it stopped raining and the setting sun burst through the clouds and onto the land where the two Fairy Tail wizards stayed. "Such wise words, Mirajane."

Mirajane didn't realise it at the time, but she blushed a little when she saw his smiling face in the sunset light. Even if she did, it wouldn't have mattered. "Thank you, Master." She giggled as she put on her sweetest smile.

"Please, just call me Lelouch. I feel like an old man when someone calls me by my title."

Mirajane laughed as she stood back up and put her umbrella away. "Well okay then, Lelouch."

He got up from his sitting position and stood tall with a proud smile. "Shall we get going? It's getting late."

Mirajane nodded. "Sure!"

End of Chapter 26

* * *

**(A/N: Yeah, sorry about making you all feel depressed here. It was hard on me too. Don't worry though; the next chapter will make you all feel better. I promise.**

**So review and tell me what you think of this. The romance arc is going to start immediately after this, so I'd recommend letting this chapter settle for a day before reading a whole chapter full of comedy.**

**Later guys. Oh, and sorry about the delay. I know it's the holidays, but you're going to have to accept this. I won't be doing this very often this year.)**


	27. Gender-bending, Girl-on-Girl, and

Chapter 27: Gender-bending, Girl-on-Girl, and lots of Nosebleeds

**(A/N: Yeah, if the title hasn't given away enough, then the whole chapter will.**

**Oh yeah, if you're squeamish and don't like horrifying images or something that resembles Stephen King's horror – at least that's what I guess it's like here – then I would skip the part that begins with 'Ryuko Seishikina was depressed.' I will summarise it for you if you haven't read it – just ask.)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass **_**or **_**Fairy Tail**_**. Most of my original characters are based off other characters from various anime and a game, and I do not own any of them either; even if I changed their personalities slightly.**

* * *

Reiji snuck into Lelouch's room in the middle of the night, holding a scented candle in one hand, with the other hand trying to stop his snickering. He walked to his friend's bedside table and placed the candle down onto it. He pulled out a match and lit it, placing it above the candle and setting it alight as well.

He put out the match's fire, hurried out of the door and thought to himself with a trolling grin, _Oh man, Lelouch is going to have one hell of a fucking day…_

* * *

It had been a whole week since the Sixth Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Lelouch Lamperouge, made peace with himself and accepted Kishi Barasono's passing. And during that week, not only had he reinstated Laxus back into the guild, he had been taking lessons from former Guild Master Makarov on how to use Fairy Law: one of the three great spells of Fairy Tail. It certainly wasn't easy, but Lelouch was starting to get the hang of it fairly quickly. It wouldn't be long until he could use it without any problems.

So for now, he was going to take a break; get to know the Heaven Wolf team better since he practically avoided them for a while when he was Mystogan.

He and Team Sorcière each lived in different places. Andreas, Jellal and Reiji used to live in the same house together, but the Strauss family decided to let their father into their home so that they could become more familiar with him. Lelouch decided to move in with his two friends so that they could cut living expenses equally between them (let's just say that Lelouch's old living quarters were…unpleasant, but he had no choice at that point). Ryuko decided to live in Fairy Hills, the living quarters for Fairy Tail's female wizards. She got along with everyone just fine, but she didn't make any real friends; not like Team Sorcière.

Morning came. Lelouch got up from his bed and made his way to his bathroom, taking note of a pleasant smell in his room. He stripped and took a shower, not taking note of anything different about him. He stepped out, placed a towel around his waist and looked at himself in the mirror.

And that was when he took note of his (?) B-cup sized breasts dangling off of him/her. And his/her long black hair cascading down his/her back. And his/her feminine facial features. And his/her lack of male genitals.

Lelouch wasn't just shocked; no, s/he completely flipped. The Guild Master screamed so loudly that the whole neighbourhood could hear his/her girly voice (which sounded a lot like Erza's, actually).

And all the while, Reiji laid in bed smirking to himself. He was probably going to get killed after all of this was settled. But in his opinion, it was totally worth it.

_One hell of a fucking day indeed…_

* * *

The front doors to the Fairy Tail guild opened with such force that it almost broke off the hinges.

Everyone turned to see what the matter was when they saw a beautiful raven-haired woman wearing a black button-up shirt with a hood attached to the collar, grey pants, and black runners. Her purple eyes dazzled the men, and made the women jealous. Hell, some of the women started to blush as well as the men. She was simply _gorgeous_.

And they had _no_ idea who it was.

Leo forced his Gate open and appeared next to the mysterious woman with his arm over her shoulders. "Hey babe, come here often?"

She turned to meet his gaze with the sweetest smile – possibly the most beautiful smile Leo had ever laid his eyes upon. She seemed to sparkle in her beauty. And those eyes looked _fierce_ – Leo liked a prowler.

The next thing anyone knew, there was a nice hole in the roof that was shaped like the Celestial Spirit and said spirit went flying over the sky, twinkling brightly like a shooting star. (Not really; he ended up falling through someone else's roof when he fell back down.)

Grey walked up to the strange (and very powerful, he noted) woman and greeted her while only wearing his boxers. "Hey there, welcome to Fairy Tail. What's your name?"

She smiled at him too, making him blush brighter than a cherry (and making Juvia _furious_). "Gee, Grey, I do wonder what my name is. Oh I know! It starts with _Lelouch_, middle name _is_, and ends with _pissed._"

The colour in everyone's faces disappeared, and their eyes became white discs.

Natsu actually _believed_ it. With a goofy smile, he said, "Hey Lelouch Is Pissed! Wanna join the guild?"

Next moment, he went flying through the roof near the same spot Leo went through and also became a twinkling star. (He landed in the forest.)

"Lelouch…" Ryuko muttered in disbelief. "…is that really you…? What the hell happened?"

Lelouch sighed. "Yes Ryuko, it's me. And to be honest, I don't know what happened. I just woke up like this."

"Wow… You really filled out nicely didn't you," Grey remarked.

Lelouch glared so fiercely s/he almost made the ice wizard wet himself. "There's a nice piece of the roof with your name on it."

Grey paled. "Uh…sorry…" He went back to his seat, careful not to do anything stupid.

Mirajane asked, "Do you have an idea of who did this to you?"

"I do, actually," Lelouch answered. "I happen to be living with him in the same house."

Ryuko and Andreas knew instantly. "He's really going to get it now," Ryuko stated.

Erza got up from the table she shared with Grey, Lucy, Happy and (before he felt like believing he could fly) Natsu. She walked over to the Guild Master and said, "I think we should worry about Reiji later. Right now we need to figure out how to get you out of this mess."

"I agree; I don't want to stay like this for the rest of my life."

As the two of them kept talking, everyone started to notice how similar they sounded. They couldn't figure out why. It was starting to creep them out.

"Did you notice anything strange when you woke up?" Erza asked.

S/he thought for a second. "I did notice a scent in my room, almost like a candle was lit. Judging by the strength of the smell, I say it had to have been lit around midnight or 3:00am."

"So that means…"

"Correct. Reiji lit a magic candle in my room that has the ability to change my sex. But I'm afraid that's all I can deduct. I don't know the properties of the candle itself; like how long the spell lasts, how large the range of the spell is, or anything else like that."

Makarov spoke for the first time as he appeared next to the two (?) women. "I know exactly what kind of spell this is."

"You do?" the both of them said simultaneously.

"Right. It's a rare magic item that can only be found in the black market. It flips the gender of all of those who smell its scent. It's very powerful."

"I see. So how long will this last?" Lelouch asked, even though a lot of people who weren't looking thought it was Erza who spoke.

"Once the clock strikes 12:00pm, the spell will be permanent."

Lelouch paled; his face written with dread. "Oh no… Not good…"

"Why? What's the time?" Mirajane asked.

"11:57…58…"

Silence. A breeze. A tumbleweed…

Reiji entered the building. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late–"

Suddenly his back was against the wall and Lelouch held him by the jacket, glaring so wildly Reiji almost didn't recognise who it was.

He smiled. "Hey Lelouch! Nice body you got there."

"_Shut. Up._"

He did.

"_Tell me how to undo the spell. Now._"

"What will you do if I don't?" He was surprisingly calm about all of this.

Lelouch gave him the scariest smile _ever_. "Do you really want to test me?"

"Touché."

Lelouch let go very slowly. "What do I have to do to get out of this predicament?"

"Do twenty push-ups."

Lelouch's Dark Raven Blade pressed against Reiji's neck.

Reiji sighed with a smile. "Fine fine, my next answer will actually be serious." He took a deep breath. "You have to kiss a member of your current gender."

"…"

Several of the males had a nosebleed. So much blood flowed, in fact, that it covered the entire floor of the guild.

Lelouch's sword dissipated. Well, it wasn't like s/he _hadn't_ kissed a girl before. S/he remembered being kissed by three different women before s/he (apparently, according to Tsumibito) died. So it shouldn't be difficult, right?

Right?

When Reiji said those words, Lelouch couldn't help but blush as well when hundreds of thoughts of two girls kissing ran through his/her head. _Well, at least I know I'm still a male on the inside… Stupid hormones…_

Grey spoke up (with tissues in his nostrils). "Okay ladies, who wants to kiss the Guild Master?"

That now made _three_ holes in the ceiling and a _third_ star to go flying through the late morning sky. (Grey landed somewhere where he couldn't be found.)

"You know, I wonder how many more people it will take before the ceiling collapses," Lucy commented.

Lelouch, trying to fight back the anger inside of him/her, said through gritted teeth, "I guess I have no choice then…" S/he looked at everyone in the guild. "Who will help me out here? I have less than two minutes left."

All of the women stayed dead silent.

Jellal entered the guild and saw Erza standing close by. "Hello Erza," he greeted with a smile.

"Not now Jellal, we're in a crisis here."

"Hmm?"

"Come. I'll tell you somewhere else so that Lelouch doesn't send you or me through the stratosphere." And so, Erza and Jellal walked up to the second floor.

"You have about one-and-a-half minutes left," said Reiji (trying to hide his wicked grin with his hand).

_Okay, think clearly, Lelouch… There are exactly fourteen women in Fairy Tail – two of them are spoken for: Bisca, and most definitely Juvia. (That makes ten…) Erza is also probably out of the question; same with Levy, Evergreen, Lisanna and Wendy. (No way am I going to kiss an innocent little girl!) Okay so now that leaves seven women (Lucy, Mirajane, Ryuko, Ultear, Meredy, Laki and Kinana…) and I have about one minute to go. (I need to hurry or else…!) Who out of these women would want to kiss me? I can't speak for Laki (Too weird.) or Kinana (I don't know what to think about her… She might be spoken for as well…) so now that leaves only five of them left._

_I can try Ultear, or maybe Meredy. … No, I can't. Ultear doesn't look interested, and Meredy is too devoted to Ultear to think about men (So in short, they won't be of use to me now…). That narrows it down to three._

_So what about Lucy? (No! There's no way she'll agree to it!) Damn it! I don't have time for this! (Mirajane… Ryuko…) Ryuko… Yes, she might work… (She's my best friend; how can I do that to her!?) Crap, never mind then; I'll think about it later… But Mirajane, she… She…_

_No, will she agree to it? But what about Andreas and Elfman? Won't they be angry with me? (Damn it! Is there nothing I can do!?) If I don't find someone soon, then I'll be a woman for the rest of my life! (It might not be that bad–) Of course it's bad! I'm not mentally prepared for this! I… I…!_

"Ryuko, what do you say?" Lelouch asked plainly.

"Huh?" Ryuko was a little off-put by the sudden request. "Well I…" Then the blushing started. She just couldn't help it; it was embarrassing. "I…"

_Come on Ryuko, now more than ever I need your help._

"I… I'm…s-sorry, Lelouch…"

Lelouch's world started to look eerily dark. "I… I see…" S/he stumbled a little and fell to his/her knees. _It's over… My life is over… There's nothing I can do now… I'm _finished_…_

"Ah, don't worry, Lelouch," Reiji mocked as he bent down, patting his friend's back. "Being a girl might not be too bad once you get used to it. Oh, and you have about forty seconds left."

"Yes…you're probably right…"

"I'll do it."

Everyone looked at the source of the voice and were very shocked (some of the guys got nosebleeds again when they thought about how hot it would be, so again they flooded the floor).

Lelouch looked up and knew instantly who said that.

"Mirajane?" Andreas muttered.

"Yes," she said. "I will do it; I will kiss Lelouch."

"Mirajane, you…" _Is she being serious? (Of course she is; look at her eyes.) Then…I may still have hope left!_

"Aw man, I was so close to turning my friend into a hot babe," Reiji said. "Well, I guess I have no more time to waste h–"

That made four.

Mirajane walked over to the Guild Master as s/he stood up.

"Are you sure about this, Mirajane?"  
She nodded. "This prank has to end now, before it's too late." They had about twenty seconds left.

_... Alright then…_ "Are you ready?"

She blushed, but she still looked serious. "I am."

Lelouch moved closer to her and placed his/her hand on her cheek. Slowly, s/he moved closer and–

"HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE!" It was Elfman. Twelve seconds left.

Lelouch backed away and looked at him. "Elfman this isn't the time. I have less than ten seconds left."

"I know that, but there are other women you can kiss apart from my sister!"

"_Then you ask them!_"

"Ah-!"

"Tell me, how many of the women here are either already spoken for, aren't suited for this, or most definitely won't want to help me? Well, Elfman!?" Four seconds.

"I… I…"

"Oh for peat's sake!" Mirajane exclaimed as she grabbed Lelouch's face and pressed her lips against his/hers. With one second left to spare. The whole guild became flooded with the hormonal blood of most of the men, shooting up high into the air, like a water fountain.

But then, something happened with Mirajane.

It wasn't there before, but now… Something was burning in her heart. Was it indigestion? No, she didn't eat yet. But that burn was definitely there. No… Was she…

Was Mirajane _liking_ this?

Lelouch was feeling the same burn as Mirajane was, and it only took him/her a second to realise what was going on. Yes, s/he remembered this feeling very well. S/he's felt it more than once in his lifetime.

He broke the kiss and stared into her eyes. Both participants were blushing a little. But they couldn't help it; they couldn't help staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.

"L-Lelouch…"

"Mira…jane…"

He was back to normal.

Elfman was in shock. "B-Big Sis… No…"

Everyone else sighed in relief. That was too close for comfort in their opinions. They didn't want to be in a guild where the Master was going to be eternally grouchy. If that did happen, then… The thought was too scary for anyone to imagine.

Lelouch and Mirajane were still staring into each other's eyes.

"Well, that was close," said Erza from the second floor, looking down at everyone.

Jellal nodded. "It was."

"So what do you think will happen now? The guild is in a state of peace at the moment. Maybe love will start to blossom."

Jellal chuckled. "You think so? I wonder then… Who would fall for whom?"

"Wanna place a bet?" Erza asked with a smile.

"No… I'm quite alright as I am."

Lelouch and Mirajane were still staring into each other's eyes.

Lisanna walked over to Lucy and whispered into her ear, "Hey, don't you think those two have been staring at each other for quite a while now?"

"Yeah you're right," Lucy whispered back. "I wonder what's wrong with them."

"Maybe they're falling for each other," Ryuko told them, joining in the conversation.

Lisanna nodded, smiling. "I think that as well."

_Love, huh?_ Lucy thought. _I wonder if I will fall in love with someone…_

Suddenly, Natsu and Grey arrived at the guild, covered in twigs and leaves (somehow, Grey got his clothes back on). Natsu said, "Huh? Where did Lelouch Is Pissed go?"

"Idiot," said Grey. "That was our Guild Master the entire time."

"What!? Really!?"

Lelouch and Mirajane were still staring into each other's eyes, until…

"I…better get going," Lelouch muttered. "I need to find Reiji to clear my room of that spell…"

"O…kay…"

They stared a little longer until Lelouch turned and walked off back to his house.

_Damn it Lelouch, what the hell are you thinking? This isn't like you at all. Get a hold of yourself._

Mirajane slowly walked back in the direction she came from. _That kiss… What was I…feeling…? Do I…like him or something…?_ She certainly didn't _hate_ Lelouch. He was a very serious person, but never did he treat those he cared about with disrespect. So of course people would like him just for that. But what Mirajane was feeling was something she wasn't used to; almost like it was a first experience of some sort. She didn't hate the feeling she had either, but…

Another time, she figured. She would think about it after work.

"Are you okay Mira?" asked Kinana.

"Hmm?" She looked up, having almost not heard what the other woman said. "Oh, yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look deep in thought."

The She-Devil smiled. "Maybe you're right about that…"

"Elfman, is something wrong?" Evergreen asked.

The Strauss sibling hadn't moved a muscle. He didn't even seem to notice Evergreen talking to him.

That made her a little cross.

"Elfman, snap out of it!" She whacked him over the back of his head, but he didn't even feel it.

"It's alright," Andreas told Evergreen. "He'll snap out of it soon. All he needs is someone to challenge him to an arm wrestle."

"How do you know that?"

"It's what he told me," Elfman's father said with a smile. "Hey Elfman, let's have an arm wrestle!"

"ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE WHO THE REAL MAN IS!" All of a sudden, Elfman was back to normal like nothing happened.

Evergreen was undoubtedly confused.

"Don't sweat it," Laxus said, standing behind her. "Some guys work in strange ways."

"Got that right," said Bixlow, and his Babies repeated, "Right, right!"

"Uh… Sure…" Evergreen muttered, still baffled.

"Hey Natsu, are you okay?" Lisanna asked as the Dragon Slayer walked over to his table with Grey beside him.

"Yeah I'll be fine," he answered while rubbing the back of his neck and sitting down.

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked. "Lelouch hit you pretty hard."

"Come on, don't sweat it. I'll be ready to fight him next time." He grinned.

"Yeah," Grey said. "Maybe next time you won't try to mistake the Guild Master for some random chick on the street."

He stood up abruptly. "SAY THAT AGAIN YOU NAKED APE!"

It just so happened that Grey was in his boxers again. "OH YEAH, LOOK WHO'S TALKING? YOU'RE A HUMAN TOO YOU DIRTY LIZARD!"

"POLE DANCER!"

"SKIN SHEDDER!"

And as usual, they got into a fight.

Lisanna and Lucy sweat-dropped as the Celestial Spirit wizard's table was destroyed.

Gajeel was sitting with Panther Lily, Juvia and Levy. Gajeel didn't care less about what was going on, Panther Lily kept quiet, Juvia was going ballistic throughout the whole ordeal with the Guild Master (and now cheering on Grey in his fight with Natsu), and Levy watched with interest. They were quite content not talking to each other.

Although Levy did wonder where Jet and Droy went.

And Panther Lily _was_ starting to feel a little awkward standing on the table in silence. So he went over to Wendy and Carla. "Hello Wendy. Carla."

"Oh! Hi Panther Lily," the Sky Dragon Slayer said back.

"Good to see you," said the female Exceed.

She didn't mention this to anyone, but Carla actually had a vision of the future when Lelouch and Mirajane kissed each other. But it wasn't anything special. All she saw were several of the guild members kissing each other in different situations; nothing extravagant like a castle being blown into smithereens or anything like that.

_Love is going to be in the air, I guess,_ she thought. _Hopefully nothing bad happens in the meantime._

It turned out she would be right.

* * *

Ryuko Seishikina was depressed.

Today was the anniversary of the day she was cursed with her magic. So her behaviour was nothing new to her. She'd been doing this every year since that day now. It was nothing new to her.

Nothing was new to her anymore.

It all started around eighteen years ago, when she was only about 6 years old. She was a resident of Sin – one of the countries that made up Earth Land. She lived a very peaceful life. She had a mother and a father, a little brother – 4 years old, and a little sister – 2 years old. She couldn't have been happier with her life.

Nothing was new to her anymore.

On her 7th birthday, she and her little siblings went outside in the afternoon to go and play. Ryuko had to look out for both of them the entire time. She pouted a little when she was told that, but her parents said that if she wanted to play with them, she would have to take care of them. So she got over it.

Nothing was new to her anymore.

Somehow her little brother ran off and out of her sight, so she took her sister with her to go looking for him. This was a mistake on the brother's part. Ryuko eventually found him and scolded him, telling him to never run off like that again. After he cried a little, they began to walk back home. But something caught her sister's eye that intrigued her. This was a mistake on the sister's part.

Nothing was new to her anymore…

It was a shady figure with a black cloak on, and it was sitting in an alleyway between two buildings. It wasn't a merchant; there wasn't anything on the ground in front of it. Perhaps it was a homeless person, her little sister figured, so she ran over to it and said hello. Ryuko ran over with her brother in hand and told her to stop it and leave the poor person alone. This was a mistake on_ her _part (if only she just told her sister to come back instead of going over there herself). The figure looked up under the hood, smiled – revealing rotting teeth - and grabbed Ryuko, forcefully pulling her into the dark.

Nothing was new to her…

Ryuko screamed and thrashed about as hard as she could, but the mysterious figure was too strong. And the figure smelled awful. She wanted to get away from this person as fast as possible. But she couldn't. And in the distance, she heard her siblings squealing and crying their eyes out, yelling _give our sister back, let her go._ But the cloaked figure wouldn't listen, and soon Ryuko was gone.

Nothing was new to…

Ryuko couldn't see anything for a while. When she finally could, she wished she was blind. She couldn't figure out where she was, but she knew one thing: the figure was an old and ugly woman – at least in her 60s – and she had a knife in her hand. Ryuko thought she was going to die then and there. But what happened next was far worse than death.

Nothing was new…

The old lady stabbed Ryuko in her left wrist and cut it open - a hideous sight. The old lady cut open her very own left hand, blood everywhere, and then gripped Ryuko's open wound with her own. Ryuko screamed as loud as she could, but no-one was going to hear her, no matter how loud she was.

Nothing was…

Something pulsed inside Ryuko's arm, and crawled inside like a large number of spiders and other insects feasting on a corpse. The sickening feeling made Ryuko cry and wail. She cringed when whatever was crawling inside of her reached under the skin of her cheek. And soon, it reached the tip of her head and spread, a black vein pulsing on her skin. The pain was unlike anything she and anyone could ever imagine. It spread like wildfire, and slowly possessed her mind. Soon her cries of pain and fear turned into crazed and gleeful laughter.

Nothing…

She first killed the old hag who did this to her in her blind craze. And when she escaped wherever she was (couldn't remember) she killed all who stood in her path with her guard-less black katana. She swung it around like a maniac, and whatever was unfortunate enough to get caught in its range was good enough for the sword. When she reached her house, she completely droned out whatever her family said, and completely butchered and mauled them into something that didn't even look _human_. Their crying and screaming didn't stop Ryuko – nothing would.

In one day, everyone in her home town was cut into little pieces.

Too young to control it, Ryuko continued until she reached the Magic Council branch building in Sin. It so happened that representatives from Fiore and the Rune Knights were there for a special meeting. And when Ryuko arrived there, it was then that the Magic Council knew what they were dealing with. Well, right after she killed about twenty of the knights before she was knocked out cold by one of the stronger wizards.

And so, after a two week trial and no longer on a rampage, Ryuko Seishikina was sentenced under the law of Fiore to life in high-class prison, under charges of genocide. And she was only 7 years old – the youngest of the high-class prisoners in Fiore history. And ever since then, before Lelouch broke her out, she had been living in the Fiore branch building, but only started being treated like every other prisoner when she turned 15. After all, she was only a little girl; how could she deal with living in prison all by herself at such a young age? She couldn't even remember committing all of those murders in the first place.

All that she knew for certain was that there was something evil inside of her, and it took away her family and her future.

To control it, under special authorisation from the Magic Council, she was given rehabilitation and special training classes to control her Saika Magic, as it was known. She learnt that this magic can only belong to someone else entirely if both participants were bleeding and made contact with one another. No transmitted disease can develop during this 'passing'.

Knowing that, Ryuko forever swore to die with this magic, and to never pass it on to anyone else.

"Happy Birthday," she said quietly to herself in her room in Fairy Hills, eighteen years later after that fateful day.

* * *

"Did someone say 'Happy Birthday'?"

Ryuko gasped and looked up, a tear escaping her, and saw Reiji leaning against her doorway with his hands behind his back.

"Reiji… What are you doing here?" she asked, having never even sensed him there.

"I snuck in," he told her bluntly with a smile.

"Oh…" She was sitting on her bed with her knees up to her chin. She turned away with a glum look on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Reiji asked, actually acting completely serious.

"It's my birthday…"

"Yeah, and?"

She sighed, wiping her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Let me guess, it has to do with that magic of yours."

"…"

Reiji sighed and closed his eyes. "I thought so…" He opened them again as he walked over to her bed. "Close your eyes for me, will ya?"

"Huh?" She looked at him. "W-Why?"

Reiji looked at her with a stern face. "Do it for me at least."

She shifted her body so that her legs were hanging over the side of her bed. "A-Alright…" She closed her eyes.

Reiji slowly placed what he was holding on the ground, took Ryuko's hands and placed them out in front, and then put the item on top. "Okay. Open them."

She did, and it was a wrapped gift with a tag that said, 'Happy Birthday Ryuko.'

"What's this…?" she muttered in disbelief.

"Well, it's like this," Reiji started. "There was one person I knew the best back when I was in prison. A long time ago now I was told of a certain young woman who was in prison because she committed ge–" He almost said 'genocide' in front of her. "–a terrible crime. You wanna know when I found out?"

"When?"

"Today, exactly thirteen years ago." He smiled. "It was you I heard about, Ryuko. No-one else. You were the one person in prison that I was actually concerned about."

"How do I know if you're not lying to me?"

"Open your present."

She did, and inside was a beautifully decorated silver tiara. She gasped. "Reiji, this is…"

"Every girl deserves to look and feel like a princess on their birthday," he told her, smiling. "Now come on, don't think about the negatives on a day as special as this. I mean, fuck, it's your birthday for crying out loud. You should be smiling and celebrating on a day like this."

Ryuko was speechless.

"Oh and one more thing: don't tell anyone I did this for you. I have a reputation to keep up, and I'm not gonna blow it now."

Ryuko felt tears falling off her face. She couldn't help but smile too. "Thank you so much, Reiji… This is the best gift you could've given me…"

He sat on her bed and hugged her. "Happy Birthday, Ryuko…"

It was the 8th of January.

* * *

"Reiji."

"What is it, chief?" That was an old nickname. Reiji hadn't called Lelouch that in over five years.

The two wizards were back in the guild. The 'Crisis of a gender-bending Guild Master' as it was called, happened about a week ago. Reiji was sitting at the usual table for those in Team Sorcière (Jellal, Andreas, Ryuko, Ultear and Meredy). But the Wind Magic user was called over by Lelouch, so he wasn't sitting anymore.

"It's about last week," Lelouch started.

"Oh man, you're still gonna hold that against me?"

"That's not it."

"Hmm?"

"I want to know why you did it, and whether or not you actually knew I was going to turn out fine."

To be completely honest, Reiji didn't expect _anyone_ to help Lelouch out. But he figured that whoever did help the Guild Master would be the one who would fall in love with him. Besides, as a friend, Reiji wanted Lelouch to share happiness with a special someone: a person who would stand by his side in the worst case scenario.

But he wasn't going to tell Lelouch that; it would be too out of character on his part.

"No, I was fully convinced you were going to be a girl for the rest of your life," he lied. "I did it because it was funny, and thought I may have had a chance to get a girlfriend."

Lelouch figured his friend would lie to him, but there was no point pursuing it or calling it out. "Very well then. Just don't pull something like that again. Understand?"

"Yeah yeah, I hear you." He went back to his seat.

"You know, Reiji, you're not a very good liar," Ultear mocked.

"Am too," he shot back, and everyone laughed.

As Lelouch walked past the stage, he was deep in thought. _Now that I have some spare time, I can investigate the situation with Andreas and his family. Tomorrow I will head over to the Magic Council and ask for files concerning him and the Strauss children. If I can't find anything, then I'll have to start searching for someone who may have been involved; someone who was a part of the old Council._

He began walking up the stairs to the second floor. But he stopped about halfway when he thought of an interesting question.

_But who of the old Council would still be alive? Ah-! Of course, I forgot about him! But isn't he dead? Or maybe I didn't kill him seven years ago… … No, I definitely left him alive; I did nothing that would've fatally wounded him. Perhaps I can go to him for answers. After all, Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna had their memories rewritten. So it would make sense for someone who has that kind of ability to be involved in something like that._

_So where are you? Where are you hiding?_

* * *

Meanwhile, in Tsumibito's prison under the Magic Council…

"Excuse me, guard?" Tsumibito called to the guard keeping watch.

"What is it?"

"_Obey my orders,_" he commanded, activating his Geass, and successfully ensnaring his target.

"Yes of course. What is it you want me to do?"

"It's quite simple, really… Do you know of a guild named Tartaros?"

* * *

On the 7th of July, the Devil himself will eliminate all hope on Earth, and then God will bring down his judgement with a shooting star large enough to bathe the land in infinite fire, forever dominated by the Dark Wizard and the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse.

Heed these words carefully, as their meaning will soon be known to all. What destiny awaits Lelouch and Fairy Tail in the end? The answer is not yet clear; all that can be said is that they must go through the trials in their hearts, and also save the world from another threat – an event where old enemies re-emerge, and nightmares and dreams become a reality.

Lies and deceit. Betrayal and revelations. Love and hate.

If there is one person who understands these words better than anyone else, then that person not only has the soul of a king, but also knows true and absolute despair.

Check.

* * *

End of Chapter 27

**(A/N: I have another omake in store for all of you! If you've seen a show called **_**Toradora!**_**, then this will make plenty of sense to you.)**

Omake: Chapter 24 AU – Andreas Rokubuki: On a Mission sent from the Author **(NOTE: this can never happen in canon. Although I'm starting to notice a trend with my omakes never being able to happen in the main story… Should I bother noting that?)**

The fight between the Dragon Slayers and the Great Wizard Generals raged on.

Lelouch Lamperouge, as Zero, and Andreas Rokubuki were engaged in a fierce battle with Logan MacGyver and William Blackburn, the two 2nd Generation Dragon Slayers. So far the battle was looking equal, but something different happened.

It went something like this.

Andreas performed a lariat on Logan and sent him flying. 'Zero' flew after the Smoke Dragon Slayer, grabbed him by the jacket and then swung him back in the other direction. Andreas, instead of staying where he was and wait for Logan to meet his fist, he propelled himself at his top speed to bring the fist to him.

However, that top speed was a lot faster than it should've been.

Instead of punching Logan in the face, somehow Andreas' fist punched the air itself so hard that the very fabric of space-time tore open in front of him, and he fell straight into the tear. "What the HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLL–"

And then he was gone.

No-one knew what just happened. Was it even physically _possible_ to do that? I mean, Simon from _Gurren Lagann_ did it, but, what the fuck? This is my fanfiction! Why the hell did Andreas become so powerful his very fist tore a hole in the space-time continuum!? Just _why_-

"Shut up Ebi!" Lelouch exclaimed.

Yes Your Majesty…

Anyway, let's look at where he'll end up.

Ryuji, Taiga and her friend (and Ryuji's crush) Minori were walking in the street of their town, having just finished school for the day. (Seriously, what the fuck does Ryuji see in this bitch?)

Minori (being the annoying bitch she is) was talking to Taiga about…whatever she talks about. (I don't know; can you ever understand a word she says? Because I sure can't.)

Ryuji just walked in silence, listening to the two of them talk, until he saw a curious thing in the sky. It looked like a giant hole, but he couldn't be sure. Because come on, what were the odds of the space-time continuum tearing?

Well…

Suddenly he saw a man emerge from the sky. Hmm, strange… Maybe he was imagining things.

Oh how wrong he was…

It was Andreas, and he looked like he was still going to punch someone (don't ask me why he's still in this position). His fist was on fire, and he seemed to be accelerating at a brilliant velocity.

"Huh? What's that up there? Is it an alien?" … (Fuck you Minori.)

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" cried Andreas, unable to stop his momentum.

"Ooh, he speaks Japanese too!" (No he doesn't… You're just reading what I'm writing. Stop pretending you know things.)

And then, it happened.

His knuckles pressed against her nose and reached her mouth. The force went all the way into the back of her head, sending a shockwave through her teeth that rocked her brain. The force of the punch itself was so strong that she went flying into a building twenty stories high.

Andreas' fist connected with Minori's face. Yup. Right in the middle.

And then another hole in space-time was torn open, and Andreas fell into it again. And then he was gone.

In your fucking _face_, Minori! You walked right into my trap! _Ha!_ I've been wanting to do that for _months_!

End of Omake


	28. Take Over this FlameCapture my Heart

Chapter 28: Take Over this Brilliant Flame and Capture my Heart

**(A/N: Even though it technically started last chapter, allow me to declare that the romance arc is now officially underway! And who are we starting off with? You guessed it: it's Natsu and Lisanna.**

**No I am not joking, NaLu fans. I am a Na**_**Li**_** fan, and there is **_**nothing**_** you can do or say that will change my mind. Don't like it? Outraged? Then don't read this story, because I don't need you reading it. This is after all **_**my**_** story, and I can pair any two characters together if it suits my views. Your OTP – one true pairing - means **_**nothing**_** to me, and it shouldn't have to.**

**I apologise in advance to those who aren't die-hard NaLu fans for subjecting you to reading that little rant. What you came here for is a story; not a pairing debate. However, I don't want to see dozens of complaints not long after I have put this up. Just please be quiet, read, and tell me if the chapter was good. That's all I ask.)**

**I do not own **_**Code Geass**_** or **_**Fairy Tail**_**.**

* * *

"LELOUCH, I WANNA FIGHT YOU!"

Lelouch, wearing the Guild Master coat, was having a conversation with Team Sorcière until he heard Natsu shout his name. He turned his whole body around so that he was sitting in his seat facing away from the table, arms folded. _The absurdity of some people,_ he thought quietly. "Natsu."

"Yeah?"

"You do know that I'm the Guild Master, right?"

"Exactly! That's why I wanna fight you!"

"Have you forgotten that I beat you with one attack on Heaven Wolf Island seven years ago?"

"But I wasn't at full power then. This time it'll be different!"

"Have you also forgotten that your power hasn't increased in seven years?"

Natsu chuckled cockily. "I'll show you what I can do."

"I have two different kinds of magic as well; both of which can last quite a long time."

"That means more fighting for me!"

_Great… Now what? Should I accept his challenge, or should I decline it? Maybe I can have someone else fight him for me. Or better yet…_ Lelouch had an idea, and it made him smirk. "Very well Natsu, I accept your challenge. The battle will start in two seconds."

"…" Natsu only just registered how time he had to prepare. "Wait what?"

Too late.

Lelouch punched Natsu hard on the head by using Angel Step, knocking him out, and then used another 'step' to return to his seat in the exact same position. "I win."

The entire guild roared in laughter.

Natsu got up and rubbed his head. "Damn it, that was cheap…"

"Why don't I fight him, Lelouch?"

"Hmm? Andreas?" This surprised the Guild Master.

"I reckon it'll be fun. Besides, not only does Natsu want a good fight, but I want to show my family what I can do." Andreas smiled. "So how about it, Natsu?" he called.

"Huh?" The Dragon Slayer only just paid attention to what the father of three said. When he finally processed the challenge, he smirked. "Sounds like fun. Let's do it!"

They agreed to go outside the front of the guild for the fight.

* * *

The whole guild made a large circle around the road in front of the Fairy Tail guild building (the same place where Natsu and Erza fought a long time ago now). In the centre of the circle stood Natsu Dragneel: the Fire Dragon Slayer, and Andreas Rokubuki: former member of the Great Wizard Generals and now a member of Team Sorcière. Andreas took off his white gi, baring his incredibly well-developed and toned upper body. He even took off his footwear.

And he was feeling _great_.

"The rules are simple," Lelouch stated. "The fight is over when one of you can either no longer fight, are in a situation where the end result is obvious, or declare that you admit defeat. Is that clear?"

"You bet it is!" Natsu said, going into a right-lead stance.

"Understood," Andreas replied, going into a low horse stance, tensing his arms.

_Right. All tasks at hand have been cleared. Let's see how strong you are, Natsu Dragneel._ Dramatically, he threw his right hand across his body and swung it across back the other way. "Begin!" And he swiftly moved back into the crowd.

Natsu roared and stomped the ground as he began powering up, flames burning high into the air. Andreas yelled at the top of his lungs, summoning his six arms and powering up his Mantra Magic. The red aura also went sky-high.

The very ground was starting to shiver.

"Who do you think will win?" Lucy asked.

Grey answered, "If I have to choose, I'd say Andreas. However, I haven't seen what he's capable of, so Natsu might stand a chance if he's fortunate."

Natsu glared at his foe. "You ready?"

"Always," Andreas answered with a smile.

"_FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!_" Natsu went soaring forward with his fist pulled back, his whole body still on fire.

Andreas met the Dragon Slayer's fist with one of his own, and the shockwave was enough to make cracks start appearing on the ground.

_You can do it, Natsu,_ Lisanna thought. _I know you can._

Natsu dropped his fist. "_FIRE DRAGON'S TALONS!_" His right foot went upwards, trying to connect with Andreas' chin. But the father grabbed him by his leg, spun around twice, and then threw the Dragon Slayer back to where he started.

He recovered. "_FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!_" The breath of flame advanced, but Andreas dodged it by jumping over it and spinning four times before kicking Natsu in the face, sending him flying to the left. Andreas landed on his feet.

"Is that all you got, Dragon Slayer!?"

"Not even _close_!" Natsu leapt forward, his next attack ready to go. "_FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!_" The large ball of fire smashed the ground into pieces, but Andreas avoided the attack with little difficulty.

"You're not getting away from me!" Natsu shouted, his fists engulfed in fire.

Andreas was standing where he started. "Who said I was running?" He started firing Mantra Blasts from his fists in rapid succession, forcing the guild members to start scattering and letting the blasts go down the street.

Natsu began dodging left and right, moving forward little by little and trying to get in close. When one of the magic fists was unavoidable, he punched it with his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, creating a spectacular collision. Natsu actually destroyed the Mantra Blast, creating a bright red shower of light.

Reiji whistled. "That's impressive. I didn't know people could do that."

Jellal said, "It is impressive, but Andreas is still holding back."

Andreas ceased his assault and pulled back the three fists on his right side. When Natsu approached with brilliant speed, Andreas socked him in the face, chest and stomach, sending the Dragon Slayer flying back. Andreas dashed forward and performed an uppercut. Natsu went flying high into the air.

He met the Dragon Slayer high up, used four arms to hold his arms and legs apart, and wrapped his two remaining arms around Natsu's waist. He placed his right leg in between Natsu's legs, right in the middle. And when he came back down onto the ground, he stomped his leg down, and Natsu's privates were crushed by the force of the blow from the strong stance Andreas had. The Dragon Slayer screamed in agony.

Several guild members winced.

"That's gotta hurt," said Gajeel, who was actually greatly enjoying this battle.

Andreas tossed him to the side and stood up straight. "Will you continue, Natsu?"

Natsu didn't seem to hear him, as he was holding his hands between his legs and trying to stop his screaming.

"Should I stop the battle?" Lelouch asked.

"No, don't," Andreas told the Guild Master. "This isn't over yet."

And he was right.

Natsu started to charge his power again, and his flames went skyrocketing once more. But now the flames were charged with lightning. Slowly, the Dragon Slayer got up to his feet and had a fierce look in his eyes. "_Thunder Flame Dragon's…_"

"Oh? This is new," said Andreas as he turned to face Natsu.

Lucy was shocked. "Wait, that attack is…!"

"_ROAR!_"

Andreas didn't have time to dodge, so he blocked as best as he could. But it wasn't enough. Natsu's attack was massive, and it went down the entire pathway. The very ground shook violently from its power.

_Impressive,_ Lelouch admitted. _Even I didn't know about this. I guess he was known as one of the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail for a reason, and he hasn't even learned about Second Origin yet._

The attack ceased, and Andreas lowered his guard. Natsu's attack definitely left a mark on him. His four extra arms were destroyed, and his real arms were trembling.

"Amazing…" Lisanna's cheeks turned a little pink. Who knew Natsu was so strong, despite being behind seven years with the rest of the world? It certainly was impressive. And Lisanna liked that, even if the Dragon Slayer was apparently fighting her father.

"How's that?" Natsu asked, still ready to keep fighting.

"I'm certainly impressed, Natsu," Andreas admitted. "However, I have a feeling that was your best attack."

_Damn, he figured it out,_ Natsu thought.

"No matter. Let's finish this." Andreas built up his magic and charged.

"Ha! Fine by me!" Natsu charged too, and the two of them began throwing punches.

Andreas performed a spinning roundhouse kick, but the Dragon Slayer blocked with both of his forearms covering his face. When the leg came down, Natsu performed a front-flip and then an axe kick. Andreas caught the leg by the ankle, pulled it down, and then socked him in the face with a Mantra Magic-powered straight right punch, knocking Natsu down to the ground. Andreas grabbed the Dragon Slayer by the neck, and started dragging him across the concrete hard enough to crack it. He dragged him through the ground for a few seconds before Natsu pulled Andreas' hand off and did a back-flip.

"_FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!_"

Andreas dodged, but Natsu charged right through his own flames and managed to punch Andreas in the face.

"This is becoming one hell of a fight," said Ryuko. "I'm starting to wonder if Andreas really is going easy on him."

Lelouch laughed. "Come on Ryuko, if there's anyone who knows how strong Andreas is when he's going all out, it would be me. After all…I'm the only one who has ever defeated him."

Andreas recovered and nailed Natsu in the stomach with a hard right knee, causing him to gag.

"Looks like it'll be over soon," Jellal muttered. "Andreas is starting to get that look in his eyes."

Andreas clasped his hands together and smashed them in the middle of Natsu's back, knocking him to the ground. He went for the final blow (punching him in the back of the head), but Natsu rolled to the side and avoided it, letting his opponent make a hole in the concrete. But Andreas didn't stop there. Before Natsu could get back on his feet, Andreas mounted on top of him.

"Ah crap," Natsu muttered, realising he was in trouble.

Andreas raised his fist and–

"_Stop_!"

–barely stopped himself from hitting Natsu.

Everyone in the guild relaxed almost straight away.

Lelouch walked up to the two wizards, clapping. "Excellent fight you two. That'll be all for today."

Andreas got off of Natsu and offered his hand. Natsu smiled and took it, and he was pulled up to his feet. "Nice job, Natsu."

He nodded. "Yeah, you too." He was a little disappointed that the fight was already over, but he had to concede here; Andreas really was stronger than him right now. But he promised he would get stronger than him one day.

"Get some rest you two," said Lelouch. "I think you both deserve it. Oh, and Natsu?"

"Hmm?"

"I hope you understand just how strong Team Sorcière really is, and that I am stronger than all of them. Not put together, but you know what I mean."

Natsu nodded. "Got it." With that, he walked over to his teammates, who complimented him for his effort. Andreas as well, was congratulated for the fight by Team Sorcière.

"Natsu," Lisanna said.

"Yeah?"

"Um, can I treat your injuries for you, please?" She had the slightest blush on her face.

He didn't notice. "Sure Lisanna, that would be great." He had a goofy grin on his face. "I gotta admit: your dad's really strong. But I'll get stronger yet."

Lisanna nodded. "Right. I'll cheer for you when that time comes."

"Ultear, can you fix all the damage to the road?" Lelouch asked.

"I'm on it." She used her Ark of Time and fixed all of the cracks with little effort.

* * *

Natsu and Lisanna were at his house, alone. Happy was still at the guild, seeing as how he didn't really need to heal Natsu or watch him being treated. Besides, he figured Lisanna would've wanted to concentrate.

And that suited her just fine.

"So which spot hurts the most?" she asked.

Natsu was sitting on his couch after Lisanna cleaned everything up in the room (she told him it was too messy and should clean up more often). "I don't know why I agreed to this. I feel fi– Ow!"

Lisanna poked one of his bruises softly. "No you're _not_ fine; you still feel pain even though I lightly tapped you. Now come on, where does it hurt the most?"

Natsu pointed in the area between his legs. "Here," he said nonchalantly. As to be expected, since Andreas dropped the Dragon Slayer on his leg harder than a meteor crashing on Earth Land. Or at least that was how it felt to him.

Lisanna got flustered and turned away. _N-N-N-N-No way can I go there! Oh, I know!_ She went to his kitchen, pulled and ice-pack out of his fridge and then gave it to him. "Here, use this."

He took it. "Cool, thanks…" He placed it on his pained testicles.

"Now then, where else does it hurt?"

He thought about it. "Well my muscles hurt a lot. My legs feel pretty good though."

"So your muscles are sore?"

"Yeah, I think that's it…"

"Then this'll be easy!" she said with determination. She walked back into Natsu's kitchen and called to him, "Hey Natsu, do you have any lotion?"

"Lotion? What for?"

"Well your muscles are aching aren't they? Using a special lotion will make them feel better."

"Uh, yeah, I think I have some in one of my cabinets. It was a gift from Lucy a while ago."

So…_Lucy gave you a gift…_ "Okay, I found it!" She came back into his room with the lotion in hand. But when she did, she stopped and examined all of the items on the wall. "Say, Natsu…"

"What's up?"

"These job requests…and that maid outfit… Where'd you get them…?"

"Oh those?" He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "All of that stuff is from the missions Lucy and I went on together."

"Really…"

"Yup!" He grinned. "Since the beginning I've been keeping a souvenir of everything we did together. Oh yeah, and Erza and Grey went on some of the missions too."

Lisanna appeared deep in thought as she stared at the wall. Quiet enough so Natsu couldn't make out what she said, she whispered, "You two…have become close, huh…"

"Hmm? Did you say something Lisanna?"

She feigned cheerfulness by waving her hands in front of her body. "Oh no, I didn't say anything!"

He blinked. He swore he heard her say something to herself – something about being close or something. It sounded like it was important as well. Meh, no matter; he thought nothing more of it. "Alrighty, you want me to take off my shirt?" he asked, oblivious of how Lisanna took that.

"U-Um, o-okay…"

Natsu unzipped his shirt and let it fall onto the couch, baring his muscles in front of her, and causing her to blush like crazy. "Okay, I'm ready."

"R-Right…" She walked over to the couch and sat to his left. He turned his back towards her.

"My back's pretty sore as well, so can you start with that first?"

Lisanna, still blushing (and wondering why she was so embarrassed), only nodded as she placed some of the lotion into her hands. Slowly and nervously, she placed it onto his back and began rubbing.

The atmosphere, for Lisanna, started to feel…strangely awkward yet soothing at the same time.

She moved her hands up his shoulder blades. Natsu remarked, feeling relieved, "Man that feels good…"

"Mm," she muttered quietly.

_Natsu… I…_

She moved up to his shoulders and then back down the middle of his back.

_I want to…tell you something…_

If only she could tell him this instead of thinking it to herself.

She moved down to his lower back and made circular motions.

_I've been feeling…strange…ever since we returned from Heaven Wolf Island…_

She further massaged the lotion into his back, making sure none of it was left remaining visible on his skin.

_It's my chest, it's…acting like it's…_yearning_ for something whenever I look at you…_

"I'm done," said Lisanna.

"Great. I'll turn over."

"Ah-! Sure…"

He turned around, baring his chest at her again while he held the ice-pack onto him as well.

He noticed her looking away.

"Hey Lisanna, you okay?" he asked.

"Oh um, no I'm fine…" she muttered.

"Oh. Sure thing…"

_I don't know what it is exactly… I think…_

Natsu sat up straight, and Lisanna got more lotion into her hands and started rubbing.

…_I think it… …has to do with our childhood…_

As she rubbed some lotion onto his chest, she remembered what they did together as kids.

She remembered the little hut they made.

She remembered raising Happy when he was an egg.

She remembered how happy everyone was when the Exceed was born.

She remembered Natsu's young and smiling face.

She reached down to his abs.

_I was so happy then… I wanted it to last forever…_

She did circular motions again.

_But then…nine years ago now…_

And of course, she remembered the last time she saw Natsu in the park.

…

She stopped massaging for a moment.

"Hmm?" Natsu asked, "Something wrong?"

"…"

She looked up at him, appearing to have a mystical feel behind her gaze.

…_we separated…_

"Natsu, do you…?"

…_and I felt terribly lonely…_

"Are you okay Lisanna? You've been acting strange."

…_and sad…_

"Tell me, Natsu…"

…_even though everyone in the guild was still there, it just wasn't the same…_

"Yeah?"

_But then, you came back to me…_

"Do you…like…"

_I thought I was dreaming, but it turned out to really be you…_

"Like what?"

"Do you like…" _Lucy…_

_I didn't know how you got into Edolas, but it didn't matter to me…_

"Do you…like anyone in particular…?"

_I just wanted to see you again when I left Earth Land; everyone else too…_

"Huh? Do I like anyone?"

_And when we returned to Earth Land, I wanted to spend more time with you. However…_

"Yes… Please tell me…"

…_you were always with Lucy…_

"Well that's…"

_I thought you were just friends with her, but you seem to hang out with her a lot more than I imagined…_

"Please, Natsu," she whispered.

_It's not like I hate her or anything; Lucy's a great friend to me as well, but…_

"Well, I like a lot of people."

_Maybe I'm just being selfish… But…_

"That's not what I meant," she told him.

_I _really_ want to be with you…_

"Please, tell me…"

_I… I…_

"I…" Natsu was very confused. This came out of nowhere. What was she even asking him anyway? "I don't understand, Lisanna, what are you trying to ask me?"

"I'm trying to ask you if–"

She stopped.

"Lisanna?"

She held her head low. "It's… …It's nothing… Forget it…"

She began to massage his arms next.

_Lisanna…_

She massaged his arms in silence for the entire time.

"Hey, Lisanna…"

She turned to face him as soon as she was going to leave his house. "Yes?"

He smiled a little. "Thanks a lot."

"Ah-!" She blushed, and again he didn't notice. "Y-Yeah, no problem…" She turned back again and walked off–

"I hope we can talk more some time."

She stopped in her tracks. At first nothing came to mind on what to say. She didn't expect him to say that.

But she came up with something. She looked back. "Yeah… So do I…" She walked off.

Natsu closed the door and looked around the room. He walked over to his couch and put his shirt back on. He looked over his shoulder and saw everything on his wall. He saw the maid outfit. He saw everything he kept for himself.

And then he suspected something.

_Did I…do something wrong…?_

* * *

"I see, so you don't know what to do, am I right, Natsu?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Lelouch and Natsu were up on the second floor. The two of them were sitting at one of the tables.

"So basically, you're asking me for advice on what to do with Lisanna," the Guild Master stated.

"Yeah because…she's been acting strange, and I have a feeling it's my fault or something." Frustrated, he ran his hands through his hair. "I just don't know what to do! I'm pretty sure I care for her as much as everyone else, but–"

_What I don't understand is why Natsu came to me of all people for relationship advice. I'm not exactly the shining example of someone who knows what to do with their feelings, even if I was in a relationship before. _He sighed. _I'll have to tell him this…_ "Natsu."

"Hmm?"

"I'm afraid I personally can't tell you the best course of action to take with this situation."

"English please."

"I can't help you here."

His shoulders slumped. "Gee, that helps…"

"However, I do have an idea on who to ask. Try asking someone who knows Lisanna better than anyone else in the guild."

"You mean Elfman?"

Lelouch shook his head. "I'm talking about…"

Mirajane came up to the second floor and noticed Natsu and Lelouch were there. "Oh! I didn't expect you two to be here! What's going on?"

The Sixth Guild Master got up from his chair. "Here she is. Natsu, tell her everything that you told me." He walked up to her and whispered, "I leave him to you." And with that, he walked back downstairs.

_Okay, don't know what exactly I'm now responsible for, but alright,_ Mirajane thought. She turned her attention to the Dragon Slayer and sat in Lelouch's chair. She placed her elbows onto the table and held her head with her open palms. "What can I help you with, Natsu?"

Natsu took a deep breath. "It's about Lisanna."

"Is something troubling her?"

"No it's…more like it's troubling me…"

Mirajane was curious. "Tell me what happened."

He did.

After the story, Mirajane contemplated what she just heard. "Tell me Natsu."

"What is it?"

"What do you think of Lucy?" she asked.

Natsu thought about it for a moment. "Well, she's a great friend and all. Not much else I guess…"

"You said Lisanna asked if you liked someone, right?"

Natsu didn't see it. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, from the looks of it, all the time you've been spending with Lucy has made Lisanna jealous."

It took about three seconds for Natsu to connect the dots in his head. "Oh! That's why…"

"Do you get it now?" Mirajane asked with a smile.

"Yeah… It means I haven't been spending enough time with my other friends!"

He really was dense. So dense that Mirajane face-palmed. "You're close, but that's not it."

"It isn't?"

"No…" She removed her hand from her face and looked at him seriously. _How can I explain it?_ "You and my little sister have been childhood friends for a long time, right?"

"Yeah?" _Why's she bringing this up?_

"And I assume the two of you have pretended to be husband and wife when you were taking care of Happy, right?"

"Yeah?"

She sighed. _Looks like I'll have to spell it out for him…_ "When a girl plays that kind of game with a boy she's great friends with, it usually means she's serious about it. That means Lisanna likes you a _lot_. And I don't mean 'like' you as in 'just a friend'; I mean she's pretty much in love with you."

"…"

"Do you understand now, Natsu?"

Oh he understood now, alright, but it didn't make it any less shocking. He didn't even _think_ of this, but if what Mirajane was saying was the truth, then… He used to ask himself when he was a child, _What is it like to 'love' someone?_ When Erza taught him how to read, that was one word that kept popping up in his head when he was around Lisanna. He didn't understand it at the time – he was a kid after all – but now he began to ask himself that question again.

Now he was in a sort of daze. "Yeah… I think I get it now…"

Mirajane sat up straight in her chair, taking her arms off the table. "Okay, now let's hear it."

"Huh?"

"How do you feel when you're around Lisanna? Be honest about it."

Natsu at first didn't know what to say, but then… "I don't know really…"

"You don't…?"

"I remember when I was a kid, I used to have this funny feeling in my chest that went down to my stomach. I thought I was just hungry, but it didn't go away even after I ate a lot. It kept popping up when I was around her. I figured something was wrong with me, but then…the feeling became stronger, around the time Happy was born.

"I thought that was because I was so happy to see the birth of my best friend. But now that I think about it, it's…almost like it was something more than that. Mira, what do you think this feeling is? I didn't notice it before, but this feeling in my chest returned when I saw her back in Edolas, and it hasn't gone away. I just haven't noticed it until now."

Mira giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing really…" She smiled sweetly. "It's just that…Lisanna told me the same thing you did yesterday. She said she had a funny feeling in her chest as well. But she understood it a lot quicker than you did." She giggled again.

"So then…what does it all mean…? What am I feeling?"

"It's called…" And she said this while poking her finger on his chest. "…love."

"Love…?"

"Both of you feel it, right? So then there's no other explanation for it. You two love each other." She giggled for a third time and sat back in her chair.

"Love, huh…" Natsu looked off into the distance as he folded his arms. "I don't…get it…"

* * *

Being unsure of oneself and those around them was off-putting for Lisanna.

She was sitting with Elfman at one of the spare tables in the guild hall, but she paid no mind to her surroundings or to whatever her big brother was doing. She only focused on what she was thinking about. But thinking left her with a depressing feeling in her heart.

She wondered if she was good enough for Natsu. She wondered if he would ever notice her feelings for him. And if he returned them? Bonus points in her opinion. But she figured that was highly unlikely.

Either Natsu was too dense for these kinds of things, or he's _that_ much more interested in Lucy.

And that was what Lisanna was having so much trouble thinking about. She couldn't figure him out. Was he asexual or something? Was she not attractive enough, or to his liking? He always gave off mixed signals that were near impossible to decipher, and that just made Lisanna frustrated. She didn't hate Lucy, but Lisanna kept wondering…

What made her so special to him?

"Something wrong, sis?" Elfman asked.

She didn't make eye-contact, but she replied, "I'm alright Big Brother, I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

Should she answer him properly? Would he be able to help her? Well, it was worth a shot. "Love."

Elfman was a little curious now. "Love for what? A Man?"

"You could say that."

Elfman got out of his seat and sat next to Lisanna. "How can I help?"

"Hmm…" Lisanna thought for a little bit. "I wonder what I can do to make him notice me. Not just in a friendly way either; I mean to _really_ look at me and think 'she's gorgeous'."

Natsu and Mirajane came down from the second floor, and Lisanna watched him with interest as he went back to his 'team table' as people have started calling it.

In the meantime, Elfman thought of an answer. "You gotta challenge him in a Manly activity!"

_Manly?_ Lisanna turned to face him. "Like what?"

"Rock-climbing, swimming, or maybe an arm wrestle! That would make any Man notice you, coz' you'll be Manlier than they ever could be!"

"I'm female, Elfman."

He didn't seem to hear her. "You gotta go over there and take the initiative! He who strikes first wins!"

"Ah-!" Of course! It was so simple! All she had to do was go over there and ask him about it before she missed her chance. Who ever knew Elfman's 'Man rants' would actually help her out here?

Smiling, she hugged him. "Thanks, Big Brother. Now I know what to do."

Again, he seemed to not notice her. "Man!" he shouted with a fist-pump.

Not like it mattered.

* * *

The next day…

"Natsu!" She knocked on his front door. "Hey Natsu, are you there? It's Lisanna! I have something to ask you and it's really important!"

The front door opened, but it was Happy who answered. "Hi Lisanna!"

"Hello Happy." She smiled. "Is Natsu home right now?"

"He said he had to talk to Lucy. Apparently it was really urgent that he talked to her."

Silence.

Was she too late? Did he already make up his mind? Did he choose…?

Tears flowed from her eyes rapidly before she even realised.

Happy was extremely worried now. "Lisanna, is something wrong?"

She paid no more mind to him. She ran off sobbing and wiping away the tears on her face.

"Lisanna!" the Exceed called, but she still didn't hear him.

* * *

"Thanks Lucy, now I know what to do."

"Any time, Natsu. I'm glad I can set you straight and help you to understand your feelings a little better."

Natsu held out his hand. "No really, thanks a lot."

She took it with her own hand. "It was my pleasure."

"Alright, time to go!" And with that, he ran off to go and do what he had to do.

Lucy walked back up to her room and closed the door. She sat in her study chair and began to write a letter.

_Dear Mum,_

_I finally understand now! Everything is finally clear to me!_

_For a little while, I've been thinking about Natsu, and how much I care about him. It was strange, but I started to think I had feelings for him. I mean, can you believe it? The guy can't notice a cute girl standing in front of him even if it's spelled out to him!_

_But two things are finally clear to me:_

_One: He __can__ notice a cute girl when he sees one, and I helped him to fully understand what he was feeling._

_And two: I realised during my conversation with him just before I wrote this, that it's not that I'm in love with him or anything like that; I just really care for him, as a great friend._

_I decided this is what I felt for him when I tried thinking about Grey and Erza – Wendy as well. As it turns out, I love all of my friends (platonically of course!), and Natsu is no exception in this case. I'm so happy that I figured out how I felt about him. I swear, it was really starting to get to me!_

_So don't worry Mum. I'm sure I'll find someone who will love me as much as I would love them, and I know that would make you and Dad happy as well. Oh! And tell Dad I said thank you for me, please?_

_Lots of love,_

_ Lucy._

She set her pen down, smiling contently. "Good for you, Natsu… I'm glad you were able to find that special someone."

* * *

"Hey, Lisanna! Are you here!?"

Natsu entered the guild and started searching for Lisanna. He had something important to tell her, and he had to do it now. "Lisanna?"

"Oh, Natsu, you're here," said Lelouch.

"Hey, have you seen Lisanna come here? I have something I need to say to her."

_So he figured it out I see…_ "She hasn't arrived at the guild yet. Mirajane told me that she went to your house – said something was important."

Natsu nodded and turned to leave. "Okay, thanks Lelouch!" And then he was off.

"So what do you think?" Lelouch asked. "Do you think he figured it all out?"

"It took some time," Mira admitted. "But I reckon it all settled in just fine."

Lelouch laughed a little. "It looks like love is in the air this year."

"You don't actually believe that, do you?" she asked with a smile.

Lelouch looked sheepish. "You're right about that. But…at least he now knows what to do." _Unlike me, anyway…_

Natsu made it to his house and opened the door. "Hey Lisanna are you…"

He saw Happy sitting on the couch, looking glum.

"Hey Happy, what's the matter? Is Lisanna here?"

"She _was_, but she ran off crying when I told her that you went to see Lucy," the cat explained.

"Ah-!" _Oh no, don't tell me…_ He turned to go find her. "Thanks Happy! I'll buy you fish when this is all over!" And he was gone.

"You better know what you're doing, Natsu," Happy said to himself.

"Lisanna! Where are you!?" the Dragon Slayer called while running through the streets, making a little scene due to how loud he was being. But he had to find her – he _needed_ to find her – and he wasn't going to stop until he could tell her what he figured out.

"Lisanna!"

He tried to sniff out her scent, but it was mixed with the scents of everyone else in Magnolia. Damn it was hard to track her. He had to find her, now!

"Lisanna!"

And then he had an idea: the park – the same park where he last saw her before that mission she went on where he thought she was dead. _I'm coming, Lisanna!_ He sprinted, bumping into a few people along the way.

"Lisa-"

He got bumped and fell to the ground, but he quickly got back up. "Sorry," he said to the stranger before going off again. _Wait for me…_

Before long, he arrived at the park.

And there she was, sitting under the large tree with her hands covering her eyes.

"Lisanna!"

She looked up with shock and tears on her face.

"Natsu," she muttered.

"Don't move! Let me come to you!"

He ran over to her.

"No! Stay away!"

"I can't! Not now! I really need to tell you something!"

He made it to her.

She got up and started to run–

He grabbed her by the wrist.

"Let me go!" she cried.

"I won't."

"I don't want you to tell me that you chose Lucy!"

"I won't."

Lisanna turned to him, cheeks puffy and tears streaming from her eyes like a waterfall.

"Then why…? Why are you here…? Please, just let go…"

"I won't."

"But why!?"

As soon as he thought he could keep hanging on, that question forced him to let go instinctively.

She ran off.

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, LISANNA!"

She stopped and turned.

"That's right! I finally get it now! All this time I've been wondering what the hell was making my chest feel strange, so I talked to Lucy about it! She told me that what I was feeling was love – Mira said the same thing! Don't you see Lisanna? That's what I figured out!"

"Natsu…"

He walked over to her slowly.

"Lisanna, tell me: how do you feel about me?"

"Natsu…"

"I love you, Lisanna. Now tell me how you feel about me."

His eyes were serious, and Lisanna noticed.

"I…" she muttered, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

Natsu waited for an answer.

"I…"

_Lisanna…_

She smiled through her tears.

"I love you too, Natsu…"

Natsu grinned.

He walked closer to her.

He placed a hand on her cheek.

She held it gently.

"I'm glad… I'm glad you feel the same way, Lisanna…"

She nodded, tears of joy falling.

"So am I, Natsu."

She kissed him.

He returned it.

They stayed this way for what felt like an eternity to them. But neither of them cared how long it took. They were just happy that both of them felt the same way about one another.

She broke away, no longer crying. "Promise me something, Natsu."

"Yes?"

She wiped her eyes and cheeks. "Please, don't ever leave me. I want to be with you forever."

Natsu smiled as he kissed her again.

_I won't. I promise you._

* * *

End of Chapter 28

**(A/N: Best. Romance chapter. I ever wrote.**

**Review and ask me any questions you may have. That's…pretty much it, I guess… Look forward to the next chapter.**

**Wait a second, no it isn't. I need to tell you all now before I forget.**

**I'm back at school, so I won't be able to post any more chapters or new stories until my next holidays. So while I have free time, I will refine what I already have and then publish it when I am on break. In other words: _I'm on another hiatus._ I understand that it's really annoying to all of you reading this, but please understand that I want to have no regrets before I graduate. This is a big deal for me. Besides, _Fairy Chess_ is currently in the writer's block phase on chapter 30 right now, so I need time to come up with something.**

**So for now, until next time, see you later.)**


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